Testing your home for RADON

ROANOKE - "It's a concern," said Sherry Greene. "You want your children to be safe and you want to be safe."

That's why Greene has a radon ventilation system in her home.

Her family moved in about six years ago.

She says the system had already been installed.

"It's nice to know it's already in place. It's taking that out -- if it's here."

But, not everyone is taking the same precautions.

George Fardell, the owner of RADON Safe in Roanoke, says everyone should be concerned. "Sometimes it's too late. That's the problem. A lot of times, we get called to a home and a spouse has died of lung cancer, maybe never smoked."

Fardell says the nuclear crisis in Japan should be an eye opener for people to look at the possible dangers in their own back yard. "They're not taking Radon in this area seriously enough. More education needs to be done. Some homes have low Radon levels and some homes have astronomical levels."

What's in your home? To find out, Fardell says it starts with a simple test.

It should be done in the basement or the lowest livable place in a house.

It takes about 15-minutes and you send it to the lab for results.

We checked and Home Depot sells kits for $9.98 if you want to test your home yourself.

If the radon comes back at an unhealthy level, Fardell says a ventilation system will keep it out of your home.

He says the Radon ventilation system could cost up to $1200. The price depends on the system and size of your home.

Here's additional information on Radon gas and how to protect yourself and your family:

WHAT IS RADON?

Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas that comes from the natural decay of Uranium found in our area.  The top 5 feet of an acre of land contains about 50 pounds of uranium on average in SW Virginia.  Radon gas is almost everywhere.  Radon is estimated to cause up to 23,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the US.  According to the  National Academy of Science's Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation VI report, exposure to Indoor Radon is the second leading cause of of lung cancer next to smoking.

Problems occur when Radon concentartions reach high levels in areas where people spend large amounts of time. Testing is the only way to know if your family is at risk.  The EPA and Surgeon General recommend testing all homes in our area. Even if high radon levels are found in a home the outdoor air is safe.  However, when the gas seeps into a house from under the foundation, it can build to a dangerous level.  Radon Safe has been helping families since 1995.

IS RADON A HEALTH HAZARD?

Radon is the main source of potentially harmful radiation to which the average American is subjected.  Radon gas is the source of more radiation than all other natural causes - cosmic rays, internal sources, and man made radiation - x-rays, nuclear medicine, consumer products, all put together.

Radon decays rapidly into byproducts.  It is these by-products that may become trapped in your lungs, releasing radiation (alpha particles). Alpha radiation directly causes damage to sensitive lung tissue and may eventually lead to lung cancer. Most of the tissue damage is not actually from radon itself.  It comes from radon's chain of short-lived solid decay products that are inhaled and lodge in the airways of the lungs.  These radionuclides decay quickly, producing other radionuclides that continue damaging the lung tissue.  Next to smoking, scientists believe that radon is associated with more lung cancer than any other compound. Radon is classified as a "Group A" carcinogen, defined as a substance known to cause lung cancer in humans.

In two 1999 reports the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded after an exhaustive review that radon in indoor air is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after cigarette smoking.  The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 15,000 to 30,000 lung cancer deaths a year in the United States are associated with radon. 

There has been documentation of a longstanding correlation between smoking and lung cancer.  When people who smoke are exposed to radon as well, the risk of developing lung cancer is significantly higher than the risk of smoking alone. 

The NAS also estimated that radon in drinking water causes additional cancer deaths.  Most of these deaths were from lung cancer from the inhalation of radon released to the indoor air from water and only about 10% were from cancers of internal organs, mostly stomach cancers, from ingestion of radon in water.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THERE IS RADON IN MY HOME?

Testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon.  The EPA Citizens Radon Guide to Radon describes commonly available tests for measuring radon concentrations in the home.  The Surgeon General recommends all homes and schools be tested for radon.  People who have private wells should test their well water to ensure that radon levels meet EPA's newly proposed standard.

WHAT DO I DO IF RADON IS FOUND IN MY HOME?

The first step is to test your home for radon, and have it fixed if it is at or above the EPA's Action Level of 4 picoCuries per liter.  You may want to take action if the levels are in the range of 2-4 picocuries per liter.  Levels can usually be brought below 2 pCi/l.

In most cases, systems with pipes and fans are used to reduce radon.  These systems prevent radon from entering your home from below the concrete floor and the foundation.  The best method for reducing radon in your home will depend on the design of your home and how the radon enters it.  There are methods for reducing radon from the crawlspace or from beneath the concrete floor or basement slab that are very effective.  The average price for radon remediation is  $900 to $1200.  The price could be more or less depending on the home.  

To all  REALTORS, HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS

If you are involved in a real estate transaction and radon mitigation is required there are a few things you should know.  

1. Radon levels in a home can be safely reduced.
2. Allow enough time before closing to complete the job, usually 30 days or so.  
3. If a quick closing is required and there is not enough time to perform the mitigation, funds can be escrowed at closing for the repair work.  We guarantee to reduce the radon levels to below the current US EPA guideline of 4.0 pCi/l for  the quoted proposal price.
4. Be careful to check that  the company performing the testing and mitigation is a Virginia Certified Contractor and NEHA or NRSB certified.  Radon Safe Inc is a Virginia Certified Contractor and NRSB certified for both Radon Mitigation and Radon Testing.
5. If you are the buyer it is important for you to be a part of the decision making process regarding the contractor installing the mitigation system.  
6. If you are the seller it is a good idea to ask for references from the company you choose to install a radon reduction system should your home require it.