From Name
Bickner, Ken

Mr. Rhodes:
 
Radon isn’t known to cause any
disease other than lung cancer. Other indoor air quality factors can cause symptoms
such as headache, vertigo, allergic reactions, just feeling lousy, various
respiratory symptoms… IAQ that might not affect a healthy person can
trigger attacks in someone with asthma and shortness of breath in persons with
incipient chronic lung disease.
 
The things to look for are: mold (the most
common cause of IAQ-related symptoms), carbon monoxide, high carbon dioxide (roughly
over 1000 ppm), VOCs from household products and fragrances, pet dander, dust
mites, tobacco smoke, any open combustion such as candles, incense, or an
unvented gas fireplace, any connection to a garage where vehicles run for more
than a very short time...I’m sure I’m missing something.
 
Mold is caused by moisture, usually from a
leak or condensation – that’s where maybe 70% of IAQ problems come
from. Fix the leak or condensation problem and the mold will go away.
 
The only soil gas I know of that would
cause short term symptoms is CO2; it enters in the same place as the radon.
 
But back to the top: radon doesn’t
cause any symptoms other than lung cancer.
 
Ken Bickner
Iowa AIR Coalition
Linn County Public Health
Cedar Rapids
 
From: International
Web Resource for Radon Professionals [mailto:RADONPROFESSIONALS@LIST.UIOWA.EDU]
On Behalf Of David Rhodes
Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011
12:15 PM
To:
RADONPROFESSIONALS@LIST.UIOWA.EDU
Subject: [RNPROF] Sick people
suspect radon is the cause...?
 
Hello,
 
Just received a phone call from Lake Havasu
on the border of CA and AZ. The homeowner said she and her husband were having
terrible health problems after recently moving into their home. He is
having lung related illness, while she was having stomach/digestive problems.
She fears that she will have to move out in order to improve -
stating that some of her neighbors have had to move for similar
problems. Her doctor has yet to find a cause.
 
Concerned that radon might be the cause, she did a radon
test herself and found 19 pCi/L in the basement of the home. The homeowner
called me to see if radon might be the problem. She also said she found
information on the internet about radon causing other illnesses, like stomach
problems and other cancers.
 
My initial response about the radon in her home was to test
again to confirm the elevated radon. I let her know that 19 pCi/L was high and
mitigation should be seriously considered. I was hesitant to answer or
speculate about health issues.
 
How should I respond to this type of question?  Are
there other "radon related" health issues that take on different
forms? I was thinking maybe mold, chemicals, or other soil gases might be the
cause - but I'm no doctor.
 
David Rhodes
Flagstaff, AZ
********** RN PROF (Subscription changes - archives) - http://list.uiowa.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=RADONPROFESSIONALS&A=1 ***********
********** RN PROF (Subscription changes - archives) - http://list.uiowa.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=RADONPROFESSIONALS&A=1 ***********