Protecting our children starts with a healthy home. In this blog, we’ll dive into the hidden, silent dangers of radon for kids and the steps parents and caregivers can take to reduce the risk. The details in this post come directly from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), ensuring you’re getting accurate guidance.
While radon is a risk for everyone, we want to highlight why it poses a particularly serious threat to children. Understanding these unique risks is the first and most important step in protecting the kids you love.
Learn why children are at greater risk than adults.
Children have smaller lungs, and they breathe faster than adults. Thus, children may get a higher dose of radiation from radon exposure. In addition, children have immature organs that may be more sensitive to radiation and more susceptible to cell mutations, potentially leading to long-term health consequences.
Children have a longer life expectancy than adults, allowing more time for radiation-induced effects to develop. In other words, children exposed to radon have a greater likelihood of developing radon-induced health issues over their lifetimes. The longer a person is exposed to high levels of radon, the greater the risk of developing lung cancer later in life.
Where are children exposed to radon?
Homes, daycares, and schools present the greatest risk of radon exposure for children as they spend a substantial portion of their day in these locations. Radon may be present inside any building, regardless of the geographic area. The EPA Home Buyers and Sellers Guide to Radon states that no level of radon is safe. Even radon levels below 4.0 pCi/L pose some risk. The best way to reduce your risk of lung cancer is by lowering your radon levels.
What factors influence radon-induced lung cancer?
Radon-induced lung cancer is impacted by:
- Age
- Duration of exposure
- Concentration of radon
- Exposure to tobacco smoke
What are the effects of radon on children?
Exposure to radon in a child’s home has been linked to changes in how their brain works and develops, especially in areas important for paying attention and controlling behavior [8, 9].
The studies showed that kids with higher radon exposure had unusual activity in the parts of the brain responsible for focusing attention and making good decisions, such as the prefrontal cortex. Their brains also seemed to be “working harder” or overcompensating to keep up with tasks [8, 9]. Furthermore, these differences weren’t just seen in brain scans; the changes in brain activity directly affected how well the children performed on attention-based tests [9].
The research suggests that prolonged radon exposure may impair a child’s development of focus and self-regulation skills.
How can you lower the risk?
Now is the time to act! Children rely on adults to protect them. You can lower the risk of lung cancer developing in the children you care for as they grow into adulthood.
- Test your own home and tell others to test.
- Ask caregivers if the home or daycare has been tested for radon.
- Contact a certified radon mitigation professional if high levels of radon are found.
- Advise children to abstain from all tobacco use, including vapes.
- Focus on creating a smoke- and radon-free home.
- Educate policymakers on the need for radon control policies that protect children.
References:
- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Radon & Children. Retrieved from https://www.ncdhhs.gov/children-and-radon-fact-sheet/open
- Radon Toxicity: Patient Education and Care Instruction Sheet | Environmental Medicine | ATSDR (gov).
- Taylor BK, Smith OV, Miller GE. Chronic Home Radon Exposure Is Associated with Higher Inflammatory Biomarker Concentrations in Children and Adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 23;20(1):246. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010246. PMID: 36612568; PMCID: PMC9819293.
- National Research Council Committee on the Biological E ects of Ionizing Radiations (1990). Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiations. Washington, DC National Academies Press.
- National Research Council Committee on Health Risks of Exposure to Radon (1999). Health effects of exposure to radon: BEIR VI. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
- US Environmental Protection Agency. A Citizen’s Guide to Radon. 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/201612/documents/2016_a_citizens_guide_to_radon.pdf
- US Environmental Protection Agency. Home Buyers and Sellers Guide to Radon. 2018. https://www.epa.gov/radon/radon-resources-real-estate-community
- United States Department of Health and Human Services, O ce of the Surgeon General. (2005, January 13). Surgeon General releases national health advisory on radon [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://www.adph.org/radon/assets/surgeon_general_radon.pdf
- Neuroimage, 2024. (PMID: 38604538) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38604538/#:~:text=These%20validity%20maps%20were%20examined,;%20Magnetoencephalography%20(MEG);%20Neurotoxicity.
- Neuroimage, 2025. (PMID: 41077259) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12617431/
