In the movie, “The Princess Bride,” the Man in Black describes his fictitious iocaine powder, being used in a deadly game, as being odorless, tasteless, dissolving instantly in liquid, and among the more deadly poisons known to man.  

 

Radon has at least a few things in common with iocaine powder. It too is invisible, odorless, tasteless, can be contained in water and can be quite deadly. But men in black do not usually announce the presence of radon. And no one acquires immunity to it.  

 

In this course, we will examine what we do know about this ubiquitous, ever-present, radioactive gas, why more and more, it tends to accumulate in our buildings, the danger that represents to the health of occupants and what exactly can be done to lower our increasing risk.

This course will focus on the following learning objectives:

 

Explore just what this invisible danger is and why we suffer exposure to it

 

Increase familiarity with health risks associated with high radon levels

 

Discuss different areas of our country where radon concentrations are higher

 

Become acquainted with ways to test for this substance in buildings we occupy

 

Provide information on various construction components that reduce radon levels

 

Learn about full systems, both active and passive, that can be installed to lower levels

 

Present different ways to mitigate radon accumulation, with different foundation types 

 

Present outside resources offering advice on dealing with this gas