Our Review of
EPA's Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon
About 4 pCi/L

What is pCi/L anyway? It's the unit of measurement used for Radon. One of our Radon robot crew pop ups on the beach at Lake Tahoe to explain, adding a bit of Tahoe cheer to an otherwise serious topic like Radon in homes.

Picocuries What?

The term picocuries has an interesting origin in history. Aabbreviated as pCi, it's derived from the curie (Ci), which is named in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie, the married couple who pioneered research into radioactivity. So, it literally means "tiny curies." During World War I, Marie Curie also developed mobile X-ray units that were nicknamed "Petites Curies" or "Little Curies." So, Madame Curie is how the term picocurie came to be known.

Let's add to the EPA explanation of 4 pCi/L. The EPA Guide presents a lot about the goal of testing, which they say is at least to lower the Radon in homes to below 4 pCi/L. Plus, because there is no known safe level of exposure to Radon (since it's radioactive) EPA also recommends that Americans consider fixing their home for radon levels between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L.

What is pCi/L anyway? It means picocuries per liter of air. So, what's a picocurie really? How tiny is it? Get ready for a technical explanation, becasue A pCi is a measure of the rate of radioactive decay of Radon. One pCi is one trillionth of a Curie, 0.037 disintegrations per second, or 2.22 disintegrations per minute. Suffice it to say that a picocurie or pCi is super tiny!

To summarize - the count of picocuries in a liter of air is the way scientists measure how much Radon is in the air. Hence the measurement is expressed as pCi/L or picocuries per liter.

How Did Scientists Decide How Many PCi/L Are Bad For Us?

Estimates of Radon risks are based on data from studies of underground miners who worked in high Radon conditions and got cancer. Since these studies, more occupational findings have been validated by residential studies, confirming that even low-level exposure in homes carries a cancer risk, acting as a second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.

About Our Tahoe Radon Series

This page is part of our review and summary of the Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon by the Environmental Protection Agency. We have created this series of reviews because the Lake Tahoe area is high in Radon, according to the EPA. By getting Radon detection and Radon mitigation, you can live more healthfully amidst the beauty of Lake Tahoe.

This series is provided to inform about Radon at Lake Tahoe and beyond. On each page, you can view more by clicking on one of the navigation links below.

Navigation: More Radon Information