How Does Radon Enter a Home?

Radon, because it is a gas, is able to move through spaces in the soil or fill material around a home’s foundation. This regions homes tend to operate under negative pressure-this is especially true in the lowest portions of the home and during the heating season. This negative pressure acts as a vacuum (suction) that pulls soil gases, including radon, into the lower level of the structure. Some causes of home vacuum are:

Heated air rising inside the home (stack effect).
Wind blowing past a home (downward draft effect)
Air used by fireplaces, wood stoves, and furnaces (vacuum effect).
Air vented to the outside by clothes dryers and exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens, or attics (Vacuum effect).

Radon can enter a home through floors and walls—anywhere there is an opening between the home and the soil. Examples of such openings include dirt floor crawlspaces, unsealed sumps, cracks in slab-on-grade floors, utility penetrations, and the tiny pore spaces in concrete block walls. A basement, of course, provides a large surface area that contacts soil material.



	How Does Radon Enter a Home? Search Join our Mailing List	How Does Radon Enter a Home? Radon, because it is a gas, is able to move through spaces in the soil or fill material around a home’s foundation. This regions homes tend to operate under negative pressure-this is especially true in the lowest portions of the home and during the heating season. This negative pressure acts as a vacuum (suction) that pulls soil gases, including radon, into the lower level of the structure. Some causes of home vacuum are: Heated air rising inside the home (stack effect). Wind blowing past a home (downward draft effect) Air used by fireplaces, wood stoves, and furnaces (vacuum effect). Air vented to the outside by clothes dryers and exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens, or attics (Vacuum effect). Radon can enter a home through floors and walls—anywhere there is an opening between the home and the soil. Examples of such openings include dirt floor crawlspaces, unsealed sumps, cracks in slab-on-grade floors, utility penetrations, and the tiny pore spaces in concrete block walls. A basement, of course, provides a large surface area that contacts soil material.
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