Radon is a radioactive gas that has no color, taste, or odor. This makes the gas almost undetectable without special equipment. The gas is radioactive as it is the natural product of radium decay (a radioactive substance). Due to its radioactive properties, the gas is harmful to the health of individuals who make contact with it. Although radon has very limited uses its presence is much more frequent as it is naturally occurring. Radon can be found just about anywhere although high concentrations are mainly present in groundwater (Torres-Durán, Barros-Dios, Fernández-Villar & Ruano-Ravina, 2014). The gas has been credited to be the second leading cause of lung cancer with up to 20 000 individuals dying each year from radon-lung cancer-related causes (Torres-Durán, Barros-Dios, Fernández-Villar & Ruano-Ravina, 2014). Moreover, the $ 2 billion annual health care cost has made radon a public health concern. When it comes to regulation of its impacts the federal and state governments, as well as local health agencies each, have a part to play. Lantz, Mendez, and Philbert suggest that the federal government should be responsible for engineering new ways to detect the presence of radon in people early on and consequently earlier treatment (2013). State governments should aim to enact policies that will limit radon exposure i.e. test for radon gas before building homes in new areas. Local health agencies, on the other hand, should aim at diagnosing radon-related disorders early on to prevent the development of acute lung cancer. In retrospect, I believe radon exposure is adequately mitigated to prevent mass public exposure in the United States. This is due to a variety of reasons one being the existence of numerous organizations that check and highlight cases of radon exposure (Garzillo, Pugliese, Loffredo & Quarto, 2017). Such organizations include the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measures (NCRP) which keeps both the federal and state governments on their toes. However, to completely mitigate radon exposure it would be imperative for both the federal and state governments as well as health agencies and NGOs to work together to not only prevent radon exposure but also aid those who are already affected.
References
Garzillo, C., Pugliese, M., Loffredo, F., & Quarto, M. (2017). Indoor radon exposure and lung cancer risk: a meta-analysis of case-control studies. Translational Cancer Research , 6 (S5), S934-S943.
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Lantz, P. M., Mendez, D., & Philbert, M. A. (2013). Radon, smoking, and lung cancer: the need to refocus radon control policy. American journal of public health, 103(3), 443-447.
Torres-Durán, M., Barros-Dios, J. M., Fernández-Villar, A., & Ruano-Ravina, A. (2014). Residential radon and lung cancer in never smokers. A systematic review. Cancer letters , 345 (1), 21-26.
