Healthcare is a hot topic nowadays and rightfully so. Our healthcare system certainly needs some reform. While the United States has the best quality healthcare in the world our government must do more in the way of educating the general public as to preventative care.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. We as a country have known about the risk that many of our citizens have when it comes to radon. Radon is an odorless gas that enters the lower levels of homes and if the concentrations are high enough it can cause the inhabitants to be at high risk of radon induced lung cancer.

I will admit that the EPA has many informative pamphlets encouraging homeowners to test their homes and recommend radon mitigation if the levels of radon are above 4 pc/l. Yet since the 1980’s our government has not really stepped up to the plate and taken a lead in protecting its citizens. Why hasn’t more been done to educate the general public about radon and its risks?

I believe that Washington has listened to lobbyists who represent the Real Estate industry and other industries who don’t want to have radon interfere with their profits.  Why does our government require termite inspections and smoke alarms installed – but not require disclosures before a home is sold if it has high levels of radon present?

Let’s do some math – It is estimated that 8 million homes in America have higher levels of radon than the EPA action level. If we say that the average home has 4 people living in it there would be 32 million people at risk. With all the money the government paid to save Wall Street, the Banks and the Auto Industry, why could it not spend $5.00 per home to help homeowners test for radon. Would it not be cheaper to do this than having to tax the healthcare system with years of expensive medical treatment that is required to beat lung cancer? Perhaps even have a program to help homeowners if they need financial assistance to have their homes mitigated if high levels were found?

It is estimated that 21,000 people a year die of radon induced lung cancer in the United States. Some even feel that figure is too low. Lung cancer is very expensive to treat. Instead of spending these dollars treating this deadly disease, why can’t our government educate it citizens so they would lower their risks of even getting the disease.

In January, 2009 a brave young woman named Elizabeth Hoffman who herself was dying of cancer caused by high levels of radon in her home, went before Congress to encourage them to pass the Radon Awareness Act of 2009. She felt that if someone had told her about radon and she had tested her home before she moved in – her cancer could have been prevented.

Radon is not the only problem that our government is dragging its feet on; we also have the problem of excessive soil moisture under many of our homes which can affect the health of many of our citizens. Ground humidity and moisture entering the basement environment of many of our homes are a contributing factor to many of our ailments like asthma and other lung diseases.

Doctors need to start looking at the condition of their patient’s basements. Instead of just writing prescriptions why not help their patient to treat the cause not just the effect?  We as a nation can do much to lower our health care costs while at the same time improve the quality of life of millions of our fellow citizens. Please join me in spreading the message of the importance of a healthy basement. Harriette M Plunkett said in her book “Women, Plumbers and Doctors written in 1884 “ If the reader thinks we are “staying down cellar” too long, the answer is that is the vital portion of a truly sanitary house – if it is faulty, no amount of care above the ground – floor can neutralize its evil effects.”

It seems that even in the late 1800’s people were aware of the dangers of an unhealthy, damp, wet basement. Where did we go astray? Why is the message of the importance of a healthy basement not taught in schools and colleges? Please understand that I am not complaining about the country I love so much, I am complaining that our society led by our government has forgotten that we can do so much if we just educate our fellow citizens of the dangers that lurk in the space below where they spend most of their time.

We spend much time and attention on protecting our environment and rightfully so. Much has been done to educate the public about global warming and pollution – All I ask is that we put the same time and effort into educating people about the dangers that can exist below their living space.