County delays decision on radon

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors postponed a decision Monday night on requiring radon-resistant construction in new homes, saying more education is needed for the board and public.

[Joseph Deibel]

Have there been reliable studies done to see if there is a problem with lung cancer in Pittsylvania County ? Before we get all crazy about this issue, lets first take a look at whether there is a real problem.
The professors at Virginia Tech have discovered the Uranium we have underground is uniqely contained and has not been causing problems. I am not sure about whether this also pertains to radon, but I say let us investigate.

[Gloria Linnertz]

[Please take a look at this web site. http://www.vahealth.org/cdpc/CancerPrevention...
You will see that that lung cancer takes the lives of 466 people in Pittsylvania County each year. Pittsylvania county ranks among the highest of counties in Virginia for lung and brochus cancer incidence rates in Virginia. Radon-induced lung cancer comes from the decay products of uranium. If it is in the ground, it will decay and the gas seeps into the homes. Please remember if a person has been a smoker or is a current smoker and living with high levels of radon, chances are one in four of developing lung cancer. What our citizens can do is to test existing homes for radon and build new homes with radon control methods in tack. After testing if the radon level is 4.0 picocuries per liter of air, the surgeon general urges mitigation of the home.