Radon Kills 20,000 Americans Each Year
According to the American Lung Association, Radon Gas has been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer. Obviously, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. The information is released in conjunction with studies that suggest approximately 20,000 deaths each year in The United States are caused by exposure to radon gas.
The Surgeon General recommends that all homes should be tested for radon. They believe that 8 million U.S. homes have dangerous radon levels.
Radon is a gas that develops when radium in rock, soil and water breaks decomposes within the Earth. It then rises up through voids in the ground to escape into the atmosphere. Since radon gas cannot be detected by human senses, the only way to know if a home is contaminated is to conduct a test.
Most of the time, Radon escapes into the atmosphere outdoors where levels of the gas are not excessive. However, when drawn into a home or building, it can pose a health risk.
The Radon gas in the soil under your home collects in the voids and air spaces under the foundation slab and gradually enters the home. It can also enter through cracks in foundations or even through showers and drainage sumps. Most new homes have much better insulation than in the past, of so the Radon gas becomes trapped indoors. So in this case the better insulation and sealing actually works against you.
Approximately 8% of the homes in the U.S. have unidentified radon problems. This statistic makes radon gas the most common indoor Group A Carcinogen.
When elevated radon levels are found, a radon reduction system can be installed to correct the problem. The systems consist of PVC pipes with inline fans that draw the gasses out from below the home. According to Jamey Gelina, a radon specialist with Air Quality Control Agency, “Radon mitigation systems are very effective at diverting the radon gas to the outdoor environment before it can enter the home.
Protect Your Ear Canals
Rounding out their stellar selection of safety equipment, the fine people at 3M have added Peltor to their safety-first family. When it comes to your hearing, Peltor excels where others leave off. Where would that be? Check your head ” more specifically, check your ears. Exposure to high-noise environments, like those of any typical worksite, can cause permanent hearing loss. Jackhammers, power tools, saws, heavy machinery, wrecking balls, even dynamite, are all poised to steal those sweet dulcet tones of normal hearing. Enter: Peltor.
According to Robert Dobie, professor of otolaryngology at UC Davis and a former director at the national Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the leading non-occupational cause of hearing loss is recreational shooting. Ringing in the ears and dampened hearing are both telltale signs that the inner ear has been damaged, even if only temporarily. If youve experienced the muffled sensation following a concert, you know how it feels. It is essential, whether youre on the jobsite or at the shooting range, that you protect your ears.
Two frequent issues concerning hearing protection equipment are comfort and communication. The Peltor range of products includes earmuffs, radio headsets, and earplugs. Though each product offers a unique pro and con, the most widely celebrated product is the Peltor radio headset. The radio headsets are the ultimate in Peltor ear protection. Designed to fully cover the ear, the headsets are wired to allow free-flowing conversations between headsets tuned into the same channel.
The Peltor headsets can accommodate a variety of needs and a variety of users. From the Aviation headsets (designed to withstand the sonic booms of jets) to the Bluetooth-enabled headsets, to the Tactical Military Headsets (with NATO certified wiring). These headsets are the ultimate form of protection and communication. For customers who may not need a high-performance device, or for those who have no need to communicate, Peltor also offers an AM/FM radio headsets and listen-only models. No matter the circumstances, your hearing can be safeguarded.
These headsets are constructed from high-density plastic and expertly wired. Dont let the sudden impact of a jackhammer to pavement or a wrecking ball to a wall rob you of your precious hearing. Hearing loss is often a secondary concern ” but once you start noticing it diminished, it is often too late. The popular perception, especially amongst tradesmen, is that being concerned with hearing loss is rather effeminate. Dont cave to this ridiculous machismo ” protect yourself with the most powerful form of Peltor ear protection on the market. Remember, once you start to notice it, cat immediately. Better yet, remember that old adage: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Plumbing Practices Can Be Environmentally Friendly
Homes in the U.S. typically use about 100 gallons of water per day, which is nearly half of the water supplied by water utilities. That’s a lot of water, so making even some of the smallest modifications to your plumbing system can save you some money, and over time you can save significant money. Now, add up the amount of water usage by all the households in the U.S. (which according to the 2007 census is 111,162,259), it’s easy to see how even the smallest change to everyone’s plumbing systems can make a significant impact on the environment.
You can use a water filtering system in your home to purify enough water to fill more than three-thousand disposable plastic water bottles every year. You would save money by not paying the store mark up on bottled water (and you would know for sure where the water was coming from). A by-product of crude oil is used to produce disposable water bottles, every year more than sixteen million barrels of oil are used in the creation of all of the bottles used in the U.S. By reducing the number of bottles we throw away, we reduce our dependence on crude oil.
Bottled or tap: A water filtration system attached to your faucet (or free-standing) can purify enough water to fill up more than 3,000 disposable plastic water bottles every year. Globally, 38 billion disposable plastic water bottles are thrown out every year. Cutting down on the use of these disposable bottles also reduces crude oil dependency -crude oil by-product is used in plastic water bottle manufacturing, approximately 17 million barrels of oil are used every year just to meet America’s demands for these plastic water bottles. Buy a reusable bottle and fill it with water you filter yourself, you’ll save money and the environment.
Graywater (or greywater) systems: A safe and easy way to collect and filter the water used by faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines, and reuse it for non-potable (non-drinking water) purposes –cutting back on your home’s water consumption. The system recycles water, to water plants for example, reducing your use of fresh, potable water. It also cuts down the amount of water going into your community’s sewage system instead of the soil.
When leaky pipes can’t be repaired because of too many pinhole leaks or another systemic problem, what can you do? Traditionally the solution has been to replace your plumbing system -to repipe, but that means cutting walls open and tearing out pipes. So not only are you throwing away the old pipes and the drywall that had to be removed to get at them, but then you need to replace them with new pipes and drywall. Manufacturing these new materials has an environmental impact.
Leaky pipes: What happens when your leaky pipes are so full of pinhole leaks or can’t be repaired and need to be replaced? A repipe, or pipe replacement, involves cutting open walls and removal of the affected pipes. Not only does this mean you’re throwing away drywall and old pipes, but you’re using new drywall and pipes, each with its own manufacturing toll on the environment.
CuraFlo’s epoxy pipe lining is a “green”, or environmentally friendly alternative to repipe. It involves less mess and takes less time than pipe replacement. More often than not epoxy lining is more cost-effective too. Your pipes are epoxy lined through connections to your existing plumbing fixtures and valves, nearly or completely eliminating the need to cut open walls. Your pipes are cleaned out and epoxy is blown through. Your existing pipes are restored to good as new condition with at least another 50 years of service life.