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Radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the United States after smoking cigarettes. Many Americans are familiar with radon, and they have had their homes tested for the gas. Most radon tests are performed in the basement, because radon seeps in from the soil and the basement is the room that touches the most soil. A crack in the foundation or the basement are prime suspects for radon leaks.
However, the soil isn't the only place where radon can enter a home. If your draw your water from a drilled, bedrock well, your water supply could be a source of radon in your home.
From RadonH20.com:
Radon, is what you might call "AQUAPHOBIC". It would rather be in the air than in the water, so, when you allow the pressurized water to flow from the faucet, the water now goes to atmospheric pressure and the gas is released into the air, similar to what happens to the "FIZZ" in a bottle of soda when it is opened for the first time.
As a rule of thumb, you can figure on a 10,000 to 1 water to air ratio, which means that for approximately every 10,000 pCi/L (picocurries per liter) of radon that is in the water, it will "offgas" approximately 1 pCi/L into the air, on average "throughout the house". If you are using larger amounts of water in a small room (i.e. the shower or washing machine), the added water to airborne radon level ratios could be much greater than 10,000 to 1.0.r now.
If your water source is a well, it is important to make sure that you?re not drawing radon from that well.
You can test for radon in your water in nearly the same way that you test for radon in the air. Purchase a kit online. Make sure the kit is EPA approved. Follow the instructions in the kit. Send the sample to the lab. Wait for results.
Radon in your well water can be treated by these two methods:
From the CDC:
Aeration treatment?spraying water or mixing it with air and then venting the air from the water before use, or GAC treatment—filtering water through carbon. Radon attaches to the carbon and leaves the water free of radon. Disposing the carbon may require special handling if it is used at a high radon level or if it has been used for a long time.
