Radon

What is Radon?

Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas. You can not see radon. And you can't smell it or taste it. But it might constitute a problem in your Indiana home. Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths annually. That's because when you take a breath with air holding radon, you are able to get lung cancer. As a matter of fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. today. Only smoking causes more deaths from lung cancer . If you smoke and your house has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is particularly elevated.

Radon comes of Uranium, a naturally radioactive element that exists in changing amounts contingent on the type of rock and soil. Radon has always been with us.  Radon is a noble gas, which does not interact chemically with surrounding soil. The gas travels through the soil intact to the surface. Radon can be found all over the U.S. and can get into any type of building, including homes, offices and schools. However, you and your family are most likely to get your greatest exposure at home, because that's where you spend most of your time.

Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Any home, new or old, and in good or bad condition could be susceptible to radon problems. The "chimney effect" creates a negative atmospheric pressure in the understructure which draws the Radon through the cracks and openings into the house. The Radon, now in the household, begins to ramp up and follow through its radioactive decay cycle, developing radioactive daughter products.

During the decay cycle, the radioactive daughter products bond to dust and air particulate matter and are breathed in by the inhabitants of the household. Once breathed in, the radioactive daughter products emit radioactivity directly to the adjoining cells. This activity has been proven to greatly increase Lung Cancer in humans. The US EPA has estimated that from about 7,000 to 30,000 Lung Cancer deaths a year in the United States may be attributed to Radon.

Examining for Radon

You can and should have your household examined for radon. Testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon. EPA and the Surgeon General advocate examining all homes beneath the third floor for radon. EPA also suggests examination in school buildings.

The measure of radon in the air is calculated in "picocuries per liter of air," or "pCi/L". Sometimes examination results are expressed in Working Levels (WL) rather than picocuries per liter (pCi/L). There are many kinds of "do it yourself" test kits available.

Testing is inexpensive and easy - it should only take a few minutes of your time. Millions of Americans have already examined their homes for radon, and we can help you test yours.

If radon is found in your home or office, there are some comparatively simple means to reduce the radon to safe and satisfactory levels.

The average indoor radon level is estimated to be about 1.3 pCi/L, and about .4 pCi/L of radon is normally found in the outside air. The U.S. Congress has set a long-term goal that indoor radon levels be no more than outdoor levels. While this goal is not yet technologically achievable in all cases, most homes today can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below.

Sometimes short-term tests are less authoritative about whether or not your home is above 4 pCi/L. This can happen when your outcomes are close to 4 pCi/L. For instance, if the average of your two short-term test outcomes is 4.1 pCi/L, there is about a 50% chance that your year-around average is somewhat below 4 pCi/L. However, EPA considers that any radon exposure bears some danger - no amount of radon is safe. Even radon levels below 4 pCi/L contain some hazard. Bring down your risk of lung cancer by lowering your radon level.

If your living patterns change and you begin occupying a lower level of your home (such as basement) you should retest your home on that level.

Bringing down Radon Levels

Since there's no known safe level of radon, there is always some danger. But this risk can be cut down by decreasing the radon level in your home.

A variety of methods can be used to bring down radon levels in your home. In some cases, sealing off cracks in floorings and walls may assist in bringing down radon amounts.

In other cases, simple systems using pipes and fans possibly employed to reduce radon. Such systems are called "Sub-slab depressurization," and don't call for major changes to your home. These arrangements remove radon gas from below the concrete floor and the foundation prior to it entering the home.

Similar systems can also be installed in houses with crawl spaces.  There are also other methods in use by Radon contractors that might also work. The correct system will depend partially on the design as well as structure of your home.

The cost of making repairs to reduce radon depends on how your home was built and the extent of the radon problem. Most homes can be fixed for about the equivalent cost as other common home repairs such as painting, or having a new hot-water tank put in.