Radon Screening tags one home out of 10

By Betty Ann Broman, County Home Agent

Marshall County was added last year to the counties in Alabama that participated in a grant through the Health Department and the Extension System.

Through this grant, we are able to provide radon education to people in our county and provide home radon testing kits at a very reasonable rate.

Let's review the radon situation a bit: radon is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas that is in our environment as a result of the breakdown of uranium. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

Radon has been found in homes in every state in the country. It gets into our homes as warm air from the earth rises and infiltrates the house through cracks in the foundation, slab, or around pipes and drains. Newer homes which are built "tighter" than older homes have a tendency to hold the radon inside.

While we have been selling test kits in our office only for one year now, a small degree of testing has been conducted since 1986 in Marshall County.

Recently, results from such tests were released to our office. It should be noted that these test results are from homes that have been randomly tested and is NOT a scientific sampling.

687 homes were recorded with Marshall County zip codes. Testing results were broken down due to levels of radon in the test home. A level of more than 4pCi/1 (Picocuries per liter) is deemed to be a high level in Alabama.

Of the 687 homes, 71 tested equal to or higher than the 4pCi/1 standard. That's 10.3%. Marshall County is considered a "Level II" Radon county. The incidence of radon in Marshall County is not as high as in those counties along the Tennessee border. However, levels in our county are higher than those in areas with a flatter topography.

Results of the tests were broken down by zip code.

Of those homes tested in Guntersville, 22.6% tested at greater than or equal to 4pCi/l. This was out of 168 tests conducted in the 35976 zip code.

Results in the Albertville area were especially interesting: In the 35950 zip code, only 4% tested high. But almost 29% of those tested in the 35951 zip code tested above the 4pci/level.

Of the 158 tests conducted in the Arab zip code, only 8 percent were high.

Grant, where we expected the highest percentages, had only 9 tests of 82 or 9 percent that tested at the 4pCi/l or greater level.

No homes in the Douglas or Horton areas tested high. In Boaz, only one test out of 83 came back with a level greater than 4pci/l.

These test results were significantly lower than in geographic areas of Alabama to our north.

For those homes that test with significant levels of radon, we first suggest a re-test and then a long-term test.

Modifications to existing homes can be done to reduce interior radon levels. However, it is much more cost-effective to have radon-reduction done as part of a new-home construction.

Test kits can be purchased through the Extension Office for $5. Short-term tests include a vial of reagent that is placed (undisturbed) in your home for 2 to 3 days and then mailed to a laboratory for analysis.

You will be asked to give your address when purchasing a test kit, since all tests we sell are part of the grant, which includes research data. Test results are typically available in 2 to 3 weeks.

While we shouldn't be alarmed at the test results, it does underscore the fact that this health hazard is present in Marshall County and we need to be aware of it. If you have questions about the radon program or obtaining a test kit, contact our office at 582-2009.