Radon gas is dangerous, especially in mines. Way back in 1530, centuries before we even knew radioactivity was a thing, German scholars were writing about a mysterious wasting disease (possibly lung cancer) afflicting miners.
In 1900, radon was the fifth radioactive element identified. It's parent element, radium, had been discovered two years before. Since radium had a faint white glow, it began to be used for watch faces. About 4,000 women--known as the Radium Girls--were hired to carefully paint a mix of glue, water, and radium powder onto the watch dials. These women each painted about 250 watches a day, licking the radioactive brushes to keep their tips sharp and painting their nails or faces for a bit of fun.
They developed anemia, weakened jaw bones, and "radium jaw"--necrosis, bleeding, and jaw distortion from growing tumors. When a group of five Radium Girls sued their employer and won, their case established the right of individual workers to sue corporations for labor abuse.
But that was radium. Radon, which is a gas, wasn't studied as much until the 1970's although it had been documented indoors twenty years earlier. But even then, we wouldn't have heard much about it if not for the case of Stanley Watras. In 1984, all the employees at a new nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania were required to walk through a radiation monitor as they left--to make sure they weren't carrying out radioactive contamination. Stanley set off the alarms as he entered the building.
The source was traced back to his home, which they found had more than 2,700 picocuries/liter of radon gas. For some perspective, it is considered dangerous to have more than 4 picocuries/liter and Erie County rarely sees cases higher than 300picocuries/liter!
Even if your home has an unsafe level of radon gas, you probably won't set off the alarms at a nuclear plant. But you might get lung cancer, or other respiratory problems. You can test your home cheaply by contacting Erie County Environmental at (716) 858-8500. Or come to our next free radon workshop and get a free test kit.
