Radon gas is colorless, odorless and tasteless. The only way of detecting elevated concentrations of radon in any building is through testing. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Most people receive their greatest exposure to radon in their homes. Radon in the U.S homes causes approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year! 

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is a part of the uranium-238 decay chain. The immediate parent of radon-222 is radium-226. Radon comes from the breakdown (radioactive decay) of uranium that is found in soil and rock all over the world. Radon is a component of the air in soil that enters buildings through cracks and other pathways in the foundation. Eventually, it decays into radioactive particles (decay products) that can become trapped in your lungs when you inhale. As these particles decay, they release small bursts of radiation that can damage lung tissue and lead to lung cancer over the course of a lifetime. Studies by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found that radon concentrations in outdoor air average about 0.4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter) of air. However, radon can reach much higher concentrations inside a building. - ANSI MAH 2019