What is Radon?
Radon is a colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas created from natural deposits of uranium and radium in the soil. Radon gas gets trapped inside homes and becomes a health risk to those living in the house. Radon can be found in old or new homes built on all types of foundations (with or without basements).
Is it a "real” concern?
Yes! Radon is a nationwide problem. The EPA and the US Surgeon General have determined that RADON is the second leading cause of lung cancer, SECOND only to smoking. Radon can be drawn into your home and accumulate to concentrations that increase your family’s risk of contracting lung cancer. Elevated levels of RADON have been found in increasing numbers right here in Greater Cincinnati and potentially your neighborhood. The only way you can tell if there are elevated levels of RADON in your home is to test your home for radon.
What is a picocurie (pCi/L)?
The USEPA action level for radon is 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L). (pCi/L = picocuries per liter, the most popular method of reporting radon levels. For those engineers out there, a picocurie is 0.000,000,000,001 (one-trillionth) of a Curie, an international measurement unit of radioactivity. One pCi/L means that in one liter of air there will be 2.2 radioactive disintegrations each minute. For example, at 4pCi/L (there will be approximately 12,672 radioactive disintegrations in one liter of air, during a 24- hour period.) The risk of developing lung cancer at 4.0 pCi/L is estimated at about 7 lung cancer deaths per 1000 persons. That is why USEPA and IEMA recommends reducing your radon level if the concentration is 4.0 pCi/L or more.
What do my test results mean?
The EPA action level is 4pCi/L. That does not mean that 3.9 pCi/L is safe. In fact, no amount of radioactivity is without risk. Therefore, the goal with respect to elevated radon levels is to have radon levels inside the building as low as practically possible, to the radon levels naturally in the outside environment, which is typically 0.4-0.8 pCi/L. If your radon level is 4pCi/L or greater and depending on the type of test you took, you should either test again, or mitigate the home. If a passive test was used (during a real estate transaction), then you must take the average of two passive tests, conducted simultaneously in one location. If a continuous radon monitor is used for the radon test and the test result is 4pCi/L or above, it is recommended that the home/building be mitigated.
Can I test my home myself?
Yes you can. You can buy a do-it-yourself radon test kit, available on-line or at your local hardware or retail home center. Always check to make sure they are reliable, state certified test kits. Fees for home kits are around $40.00 each (including lab fees). You always want to purchase two test kits and perform the tests side by side for confirmation.
Why bother paying extra for a professional to do radon testing?
If you are buying a home, it’s important to remember that you are not in control of the property you are purchasing, and you need all the help you can get to be sure that the test conditions were properly maintained. The "third-party” licensed professionals of At Home Radon will do all the work to make sure that the test conditions were accurate. At Home Radon communicates to the occupant’s proper procedure for testing, knows how to deploy the radon detector(s), and will deliver you a certified report that has legal standing for your transaction. At Home Radon is a state licensed tester, with a formal quality assurance program and subjects its records and knowledge to periodic audit. We use continuous radon monitors and can print the results on-site for fast turnaround.
We are frequently called to re-test a house after the buyer or seller learned that the initial test was not done properly.
The most common errors we find in real estate transactions are:
- Protocols require "Closed House Conditions” during the test period. Competent professionals will use various methods to ensure that these conditions were achieved. Frequently, we find that inexperienced and un-certified testers didn’t even inform the homeowners that the test was being performed.
- Test devices are sometimes placed in inappropriate locations, such as crawlspaces, too close to windows, or even on the wrong level of the home, where they can give false readings, sometimes too high, and/or too low.
- Some monitors are found to be improperly calibrated or have calibrations grossly out of date.
The sad truth is often the sellers, afraid of the deal falling through, will just accept an improperly run test and spend their money to "fix” what amounts to a non-problem.
Why do you test in the basement?
The EPA protocol specifies to test in the basement (or lowest livable area) because that is where the highest radon concentration is in a home. This is due to the fact that radon emanates from the soil under or around the foundation. Even if you are not actively using the space in your lower level, the next people to live in the house might use it differently. Secondly, basement air is more stable; so if we know the radon level in the basement, we can estimate what it will be on the upper floors. Within a typical home, using forced air heating, radon levels on the upper floors will gradually dissipate.
Why do I have to keep all the windows closed (even upstairs) during a test?
Briefly: The EPA protocols require it. The complete answer is that your home draws air and breathes. It’s like a giant chimney: Warm air rising and escaping out the top, drawing replacement air in from the lower levels. Thus, if you open upstairs windows, you are adding to the "stack effect,” probably causing the radon levels in the basement to increase.
My house has been closed up or vacant for a long period of time; does that unnaturally increase my levels?
No, that is not accurate, for two reasons. First, Radon is radioactive, which means that is breaking down continuously (Its half life is 82 hours.) If it enters your house today, in 3.8 days half the amount is gone, transformed into other elements---bismuth, polonium, and lead. In another 3.8 days it is reduced to ¼ the amount, and so on. Secondly, a house is breathing (in at the bottom, and out at the top) even when it’s closed up. A typical home will have at least 15 air changes a day in normal operation (meaning that all the air in the house is exchanged every hour) and perhaps 8-12 changes when completely closed up. Bottom line….the vast majority of the radon measured entered the house during the test or in the preceding 12 hours and will not be influenced by a house that has been closed up for an extended period of time.
Can I have a radon problem if my house is new?
Yes. Radon is everywhere. Radon does not play favorites. It does not distinguish between a new house and an old one. Radon gas is constantly moving through the soil and into the outdoor air where it is diluted. When you place a house or building on radon source (the soil), radon will accumulate to potentially high levels and be drawn into the house or building, increasing the risk of lung cancer.
What is a long term test?
The EPA defines a long term test as one that runs for at least 90 days, and preferably for a full year. Ideally, the weather conditions should represent a balance of warm weather and cold weather, i.e. With an average outdoor temperature equal to the annual average. These tests are passive and require two tests side by side to achieve a level of assurance. The detectors are then mailed to a laboratory and results will be sent back to you at a later date.
Which is better? Short-term or long term testing?
Long term tests and short term tests are equal in accuracy, "for the period of time they are testing,” however; long term tests are more representative of climate and weather changes caused by change of temperature and seasons. Long term testing is desirable for homeowner-initiated testing, but not practical for your typical real estate transaction.