Radon is an invisible radioactive gas that is basically everywhere. The EPA lists radon as the #1 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Overall it is responsible for 21,000 lung cancer deaths a year and 2900 of those were non-smokers. You can find lots of detail about radon on the EPA site
here. Since this gas is invisible and odorless, most people don’t give it a second thought. I happen to live in an area that is known to have high indoor levels of radon, so this has always been on my radar. In fact the home I grew up in had a radon abatement system. You can see the expected risk for your area by using this
EPA map.
So obviously there are significant health risks from radon and much of the country lives in areas that are predicted to have high indoor levels. But what can you do? Well you could pay around $25 bucks and get a single test done or you could go out and spend
$150 on an
Airthings Wave Smart Radon Detector which promises to track your radon exposure over the long run. So does this device justify the extra $125?
Features and Specifications:
The Airthings Wave is a device that looks very similar to a smoke detector. It is about 5” in diameter and about 1.5” high. To measure the radon levels it uses a passive diffusion chamber and alpha spectrometry. It also monitors your room temperature and humidity levels. It should be noted this is for indoor use only, in the notes it does say exposure to high humidity levels could permanently damage the sensor. It is battery operated and communicates via Bluetooth with their mobile app which is available for both Android and iOS. Below are some additional details from their site and literature.
» Power supply:
» 2x AA 1.5V alkaline (LR6)
» 3.0V nominal (2x1.5V)
» 3.8V maximum, 1.8V minimum (depleted batteries)
» 500mA max current draw
» Diameter: 120 mm (4.72in)
» Height: 36 mm (1.42in)
» Weight: 219g including 2 batteries (7.7 oz)
» Operational and storage environment:
» Temperature: 4 °C (39 °F) to +40 °C (104 °F)
» Relative humidity: < 85%
» Initial accuracy/precision at 100 Bq/m3 (2.7 pCi/L):
» 7 days < 10%
» 2 months < 5%
» Measurement range: 0 Bq/m3 to 50,000 Bq/m3 (0 pCi/L to 1350 pCi/L)
» Bluetooth
» Audible alarm
» Mobile requirements:
» iOS 9.0 or later
» Android 5.0 or later
