III. How Radon Enters Your Home, Workplace Or School

IV. What Happens When Radon Enters Your Home

V. Why Is Radon A Concern?

Once radon enters a building it is easily dispersed through the air. The radioactive decay process that leads to the creation of radon does not stop. This causes the radon to decay into several radioactive elements called radon decay products. These decay products are made up of different forms of polonium, lead and bismuth.
Unlike radon, which is a gas, the radon decay products produced from radon are solid particles. These particles become suspended in the air when they are formed from the decaying radon gas. These particles are extremely small and cannot be seen.
Because they are extremely small particles, radon decay products are easily inhaled and can attach to lung tissue. They have very short “half-lives” which means that they will decay relatively quickly after they are formed. In fact, if they are inhaled, they will decay in the lungs before the lungs have an opportunity to clean themselves.
It is the radon decay products that actually present the health risk associated with radon gas.

VI. When Radon Decay Products Enter Your Lungs

When radon decay products are inhaled, they stick to sensitive lung tissue. Being short-lived, they will break down while they are in the lungs. This exposes the lung tissue to radiation.

If the alpha particle hits the live pulmonary epithelium DNA, it can damage the cancer suppressant genes and increase risk for contracting lung cancer. In addition to the alpha particle causing double and single strand DNA breaks, the alpha particle can also cause ionization of material around the DNA that can also damage it. This is the mechanism that radon (and more specifically the radon decay products) can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer. What is the probability of this happening? It is based on how much radon you are exposed to and for how long.