The air pressure inside your home is usually lower than the pressure in the soil around the foundations and basement floor slab. Any home can have a radon problem - new or old, well sealed or drafty, with or without basements. Because of this difference in air pressure, your house acts like a giant vacuum, drawing radon gas in through any opening in the foundation or basement floor. Radon may also be present in well water , and can be released into the air in your home when water is used for showering and other household uses. In most cases however, radon entering the home through water is a small risk compared to radon entering your home through the soil.
Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas.
The radioactive decay products of radon gas, can attach themselves to lung tissue when radon gas is inhaled. Since radon has a 3.8 day half-life, it is likely that when a radon atom is inhaled it will be exhaled again before it decays. However, as the radon concentrations increase, the quantity of radon gas that has the potential to decay while still inside your lungs also increases, thereby resulting in a greater health risk. Alpha radiation emitted during the decay process presents the most significant risk to humans. The energy released by alpha particles can cause permanent damage to DNA tissue in the lungs.