LISBON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has launched a campaign throughout the country to find out how much the population is exposed to radon gas inside their homes, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported on Thursday.
This campaign aims to sample indoor radon concentration in previously selected areas to produce a radon exposure risk map, APA reported on its website.
The National Radon Gas Monitoring Campaign is an activity developed by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) in partnership with the University of Coimbra.
According to a 2018 revised report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the USA, "radon is estimated to cause about 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year". This gas can be hazardous when people are exposed to it while at home, since "it has no smell, color or taste".
"Radon escapes quickly from the ground into the air, where it decays and produces further radioactive particles. As we breathe, the particles deposited on the cells lining the airways, where they can damage DNA and potentially cause lung cancer. Outdoors, radon quickly dilutes to deficient concentrations and is generally not a problem," the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.
The monitored data will be analyzed at the laboratory of the University of Coimbra to obtain the radon exposure risk map.
