“Esophageal Atresia is a congenital disorder in which a baby’s esophagus does not form properly during pregnancy. Symptoms include include white, frothy bubbles in the mouth, vomiting, and coughing/choking when feeding. Treatment includes surgery”.
Yale Medicine (https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/tracheoesophageal-fistula-and-esophageal-atresia)
Esophageal atresia is a birth defect in which part of a baby’s esophagus (the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach) does not develop properly.
Esophageal atresia is a birth defect of the swallowing tube (esophagus) that connects the mouth to the stomach. In a baby with esophageal atresia, the esophagus has two separate sections—the upper and lower esophagus—that do not connect. A baby with this birth defect is unable to pass food from the mouth to the stomach, and sometimes difficulty breathing.
Esophageal atresia often occurs with tracheoesophageal fistula, a birth defect in which part of the esophagus is connected to the trachea, or windpipe.
There are four types of esophageal atresia: Type A, Type B, Type C and Type D.
Researchers estimate that about 1 in every 4,100 babies is born with esophageal atresia in the United States.1 This birth defect can occur alone, but often occurs with other birth defects.
Like many families of children with a birth defect, CDC wants to find out what causes them. Understanding the factors that can increase the chance of having a baby with a birth defect will help us learn more about the causes. CDC funds the Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, which collaborate on large studies such as the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS; births 1997-2011) and the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD-STEPS; began with births in 2014), to understand the causes of and risks for birth defects, including esophageal atresia.
The causes of esophageal atresia in most babies are unknown. Researchers believe that some instances of esophageal atresia may be caused by abnormalities in the baby’s genes. Nearly half of all babies born with esophageal atresia have one or more additional birth defects, such as other problems with the digestive system (intestines and anus), heart, kidneys, or the ribs or spinal column.
Recently, CDC reported on important findings about some factors that increase the risk of having a baby with esophageal atresia:
CDC continues to study birth defects, such as esophageal atresia, and how to prevent them. If you are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, talk with your doctor about ways to increase your chances of having a healthy baby.
Esophageal atresia is rarely diagnosed during pregnancy. Esophageal atresia is most commonly detected after birth when the baby first tries to feed and has choking or vomiting, or when a tube inserted in the baby’s nose or mouth cannot pass down into the stomach. An x-ray can confirm that the tube stops in the upper esophagus.
Once a diagnosis has been made, surgery is needed to reconnect the two ends of the esophagus so that the baby can breathe and feed properly. Multiple surgeries and other procedures or medications may be needed, particularly if the baby’s repaired esophagus becomes too narrow for food to pass through it; if the muscles of the esophagus don’t work well enough to move food into the stomach; or if digested food in the stomach consistently moves back up into the esophagus.
“Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas emitted from the ground. Radon is odorless, tasteless and colorless, and can enter a home through cracks in floors, basement walls, foundations and other openings. Radon can be present at high levels inside homes, schools and other buildings. Radon in homes is more common than you think. Pennsylvania has one of the nation’s most serious radon problems. High levels of radioactive radon gas have been found in every county but most places in the Commonwealth remain undertested, so this isn’t something that should be taken lightly.”
American Lung Association (https://www.lung.org/media/press-releases/pa-radon-2024)
EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General recommend that all homes in the U.S. be tested for radon. Testing is easy and inexpensive.
Learn more about testing your home, including how to obtain an easy-to-use test kit.
Look for radon events in your community.
3-Spread the word –
Spend time during National Radon Action Month encouraging others to learn about radon and test their homes.
Tell your family and friends about the health risk of radon. Encourage them to test their homes.
Plan an activity in your community to help raise awareness.
Write an op-ed or letter to the editor using samples from the event planning resources.
Attract media attention by working with a local official to get a radon proclamation.
View or order EPA’s free radon publications.
4-Buy a radon-resistant home –
– If you are considering buying a new home, look for builders who use radon-resistant new construction. Read more about radon-resistant new construction, “Building Radon Out: A Step-by-Step Guide to Build Radon-Resistant Homes“.
Build Green: It’s Easy to Build New Homes Radon-Resistant …”The good news is you can build your customers a safer, healthier, radon-resistant home. The techniques to prevent radon from entering a home are practical and straightforward for any builder. It’s an inexpensive way to offer families a benefit that could reduce their risk of lung cancer. And it’s a smart way to build trust between you and your customer.” Fuad Reveiz, Member of the National Association of Home Builders.
Promote radon risk reduction during National Radon Action Month and throughout the year.
Set a bold goal for your community to reduce radon risk. Whether you are conducting a single National Radon Action Month event, or developing an entire radon risk reduction program for your community, it is important to set goals to define what you will achieve.
Collaborate with local radon partners. Coordinate with your state radon program and local radon professionals to hold events and measure results.
Plan a National Radon Action Month activity or event to kick off your campaign. Conduct activities and events designed to raise awareness, recognize successful efforts and share best practices. Set goals and establish ways to measure results from your activities and events.
An excellent way to get your entire community involved is the National Radon Poster Contest. Students ages 9-14 are encouraged to create posters that raise radon awareness. Entries will be accepted from March through October from students in all U.S. states, tribal nations and U.S. territories.
Visit to Kansas State University National Radon Services for more information about this year’s contest and how you can get involved.
Promote your activity or event on EPA’s Web site and elsewhere. Use tools such as blogs and the Share Your Story feature on Radonleaders.org to promote your activities and share outreach ideas with the broader radon community.
Work with the media to spread your message. Work with your local media outlets to run Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and generate media coverage of radon topics, events and activities in your community.
“You can’t see, smell or taste radon, but it could be present at a dangerous level in your home. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America and claims the lives of about 21,000 Americans each year. In fact, the EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General urge all Americans to protect their health by testing their homes, schools and other buildings for radon.
Exposure to radon is a preventable health risk and testing radon levels in your home can help prevent unnecessary exposure. If a high radon level is detected in your home, you can take steps to fix the problem to protect yourself and your family.”
United States Environmental Protection – EPA
(https://www.epa.gov/radon/national-radon-action-month-information)
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that seeps out of rocks and soil. Radon comes from uranium that has been in the ground since the time the earth was formed, and the rate of radon seepage is very variable, partly because the amounts of uranium in the soil vary considerably. Radon flows from the soil into outdoor air and also into the air in homes from the movement of gases in the soil beneath homes. Outside air typically contains very low levels of radon, but it builds up to higher concentrations indoors when it is unable to disperse. Some underground mines, especially uranium mines, contain much higher levels of radon.
Radon is present outdoors and indoors. It is normally found at very low levels in outdoor air and in drinking water from rivers and lakes. It can be found at higher levels in the air in houses and other buildings, as well as in water from underground sources, such as well water.
Radon breaks down into solid radioactive elements called radon progeny (such as polonium-218, polonium-214, and lead-214). Radon progeny can attach to dust and other particles and can be breathed into the lungs. As radon and radon progeny in the air break down, they give off radiation that can damage the DNA inside the body’s cells.
1-At home and in other buildings.
For both adults and children, most exposure to radon comes from being indoors in homes, offices, schools, and other buildings. The levels of radon in homes and other buildings depend on the characteristics of the rock and soil in the area. As a result, radon levels vary greatly in different parts of the United States, sometimes even within neighborhoods. Elevated radon levels have been found in every state.
Radon gas given off by soil or rock can enter buildings through cracks in floors or walls; construction joints; or gaps in foundations around pipes, wires, or pumps. Radon levels are usually highest in the basement or crawl space. This level is closest to the soil or rock that is the source of the radon. Therefore, people who spend much of their time in basement rooms at home or at work have a greater risk for being exposed.
Small amounts of radon can also be released from the water supply into the air. As the radon moves from the water to air, it can be inhaled. Water that comes from deep, underground wells in rock may have higher levels of radon, whereas surface water (from lakes or rivers) usually has very low radon levels. For the most part, water does not contribute much to overall exposure to radon.
Radon exposure can also occur from some building materials if they are made from radon-containing substances. Almost any building material made from natural substances, including concrete and wallboard, may give off some level of radon. In most cases these levels are very low, but in a few instances these materials may contribute significantly to radon exposure.
Some granite countertops may expose people to different levels of radon. Most health and radiation experts agree that while a small portion of granite countertops might give off increased levels of radon, most countertops give off extremely low levels.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s very unlikely that a granite countertop in a home would increase the radiation level above the normal, natural background level that comes from nearby soil and rocks. Still, people concerned about radon from countertops and from other household sources can test these levels using home detection kits or can hire a professional to do the testing (see the section “How can I avoid exposure to radon?”).
According to the EPA, the average indoor radon level is about 1.3 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). People should take action to lower radon levels in the home if the level is 4.0 pCi/L or higher. The EPA estimates that nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the United States has elevated radon levels.
Outdoors, radon generally disperses and does not reach high levels. Average levels of radon outdoors, according to the EPA, are about 0.4 pCi/L.
2-At certain jobs
In the workplace, people working underground, such as some types of miners, are among the most likely to be exposed to high levels of radon. High death rates from lung problems among miners in some parts of the world were first noted hundreds of years ago, long before people knew what radon was. Studies of radon-exposed miners during the 1950s and 1960s confirmed the link between radon exposure and lung cancer.
Higher levels of radon exposure are also more likely for people who work in uranium processing factories or who come in contact with phosphate fertilizers, which may have high levels of radium (an element that can break down into radon).
Does radon cause cancer?
Being exposed to radon for a long period of time can lead to lung cancer. Radon gas in the air breaks down into tiny radioactive elements (radon progeny) that can lodge in the lining of the lungs, where they can give off radiation. This radiation can damage lung cells and eventually lead to lung cancer.
Cigarette smoking is by far the most common cause of lung cancer in the United States, but radon is the second leading cause. Scientists estimate that about 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year are related to radon.
Exposure to the combination of radon gas and cigarette smoke creates a greater risk for lung cancer than either factor alone. Most radon-related lung cancers develop in smokers. However, radon is also thought to cause a significant number of lung cancer deaths among non-smokers in the United States each year.
Although radon is chemically inert and electrically uncharged, it is radioactive, which means that radon atoms in the air can spontaneously decay, or change to other atoms. When the resulting atoms, called radon progeny, are formed, they are electrically charged and can attach themselves to tiny dust particles in indoor air. These dust particles can easily be inhaled into the lung and can adhere to the lining of the lung. The deposited atoms decay, or change, by emitting a type of radiation called alpha radiation, which has the potential to damage cells in the lung. Alpha radiations can disrupt DNA of these lung cells. This DNA damage has the potential to be one step in a chain of events that can lead to cancer. Alpha radiations travel only extremely short distances in the body. Thus, alpha radiations from decay of radon progeny in the lungs cannot reach cells in any other organs, so it is likely that lung cancer is the only potentially important cancer hazard posed by radon.
For centuries, it has been known that some underground miners suffered from higher rates of lung cancer than the general population. In recent decades, a growing body of evidence has causally linked their lung cancers to exposure to high levels of radon and also to cigarette smoking. The connection between radon and lung cancer in miners has raised concern that radon in homes might be causing lung cancer in the general population, although the radon levels in most homes are much lower than in most mines. The National Research Council study, which has been carried out by the sixth Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VI, has used the most recent information available to estimate the risks posed by exposure to radon in homes.
You can’t see, smell or taste radon, but it could be present at a dangerous level in your home. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America and claims the lives of about 21,000 Americans each year. In fact, the EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General urge all Americans to protect their health by testing their homes, schools and other buildings for radon.
Exposure to radon is a preventable health risk and testing radon levels in your home can help prevent unnecessary exposure. If a high radon level is detected in your home, you can take steps to fix the problem to protect yourself and your family.
Radon, being naturally occurring, cannot be entirely eliminated from our homes. Of the deaths that attributes to radon (both independently and through joint action with smoking), perhaps one-third could be avoided by reducing radon in homes where it is above the “action guideline level” of 148 Bqm-3 (4 pCiL-1) to below the action levels recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency.4
The risk of lung cancer caused by smoking is much higher than the risk of lung cancer caused by indoor radon. Most of the radon-related deaths among smokers would not have occurred if the victims had not smoked. Furthermore, there is evidence for a synergistic interaction between smoking and radon.
“A few precautions that are recommended for all pregnant women include the following:
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ACOG
(https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/reducing-risks-of-birth-defects)
“The reported incidence of PDA in term neonates is only 1 in 2,000 births, accounting for 5%–10% of all congenital heart disease.6 The incidence of PDA in preterm neonates is far greater, with reports ranging from 20%–60% (depending on population and diagnostic criteria).3 The increased incidence of PDA in the preterm infant is attributable to the lack of normal closure mechanisms due to immaturity. Gestational age and weight are intimately linked to PDA in preterm neonates. Specifically, PDA is present in 80% of infants weighing less than 1,200 g at birth, compared to 40% of infants weighing less than 2,000 g at birth.1,7 Furthermore, symptomatic PDA is present in 48% of infants with a birth weight of less than 1,000 g.”
National Library of Medicine (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3462096/)
“Every 4.5 minutes a baby is born with a condition that affects the structure or function of their body—collectively, these conditions are referred to as birth defects. They can vary widely in how and where they affect the body, and include things from cleft lip to heart disease problems. While medical advancements have greatly improved the health and survival of these individuals, many of these conditions are lifelong and require lifelong care. While medical advancements have greatly improved the health and survival of these individuals, many of these conditions are lifelong and require lifelong care.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/esophagealatresia.html)
“The thyroid is a small gland at the front of your neck that makes the thyroid hormone that regulates your metabolism, says Dr. Thomas J. Fahey III, Chief of Endocrine Surgery, and Director of the Endocrine Oncology Program. “The thyroid has a wide-ranging effect throughout the body. It contributes to how fast your heart beats, how fast your hair grows, and how fast things pass through your intestines,” Dr. Fahey says.
The thyroid gland commonly malfunctions, typically by over- or under-producing hormones. An over-functioning thyroid gland can trigger “hyperthyroidism,” which can cause your body to race and your heart to pound, as well as weight loss, sleep trouble, muscle weakness, frequent or loose bowel movements, nervousness, or irritability. The most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the U.S. is Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland. An under-functioning thyroid, which frequently stems from the autoimmune disorder Hashimoto’s disease, may lead to “hypothyroidism” and resulting fatigue, weight gain, depression, constipation, heavy or irregular menstrual periods, or problems conceiving. Family history increases the risk for both Hashimoto’s and Graves’.”
Weill Cornell Medicine (https://weillcornell.org/news/understanding-thyroid-problems-disease)
