Is Radon A New Problem?
Underground miners have been dying of radon-induced lung cancer for centuries, though radon and lung cancer weren’t clearly linked until the 1950s and 1960s. A curious incident in 1984 grabbed the attention of the scientific community and eventually led to the realization that naturally occurring radon could be a significant health threat inside residential dwellings. In December of that year, an employee of the nuclear power plant in Limerick, Pennsylvania, set off a radiation detector upon entering his work facility. The man’s home was subsequently monitored for radiation and found to contain a shockingly elevated level of radon. At 2,700 pCi/l the worker’s house contained more than 13 times the level of naturally occurring radon ever expected to be found inside a private residence. The man was actually contaminated with radiation from the radon inside his own home. Widespread radon testing conducted after this incident revealed that residential radon was a problem national in scope.
