Radon Explained in Detail

Radon, to test or not to test, that is the question...

Should I test for radon?
Is it worth it?
If testing for radon is easy, why aren't more people having it done? The fact is, they are!

More and more people are having their homes tested for radon. Why? Because radon is dangerous. What makes radon even more dangerous is the fact that people don't believe they or their loved ones are in danger from something they can't see, taste, or smell. Something so transparent to our lives turns out to be something every homeowner should be concerned about.

Health Risk From Radon
Here is the main health risk: it is a fact that radon causes lung cancer. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. It is estimated that 21,000 people die of lung cancer caused by radon each year. This is not a statistic to be taken lightly! Unfortunately we don't think about what can happen down the road 5-10-20 years from now if we ignore the fact that we may be breathing in radioactive particles that can cause cancer. To answer the question "should I have my home tested for radon?" My answer is always "YES". The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Illinois, and many other medical and scientific agencies recommend that you have your home tested. The cost of testing and fixing a home, if need be, is well worth the health of you and your loved ones.

Real Estate Radon Disclosure
Radon disclosure is now a part of each sales contract for home sales in Illinois, and for good reason. Illinois mandated that such disclosure be a part of each real estate contract because of the fact that radon causes lung cancer and also because radon is a serious world-wide heath issue. Every home has radon. The only question is, are the levels high enough to cause concern?

How Radon Enters Houses
The path radon takes to get into your home starts with the natural soil around your home. Uranium 238 is a radioactive and plentiful element in the earth's crust. Over time, uranium radioactively decays, and through intermediate steps, forms the element radium, a solid. Radium in soil poses no threat to humans. When radium radioactively decays, it forms radon which can pose a threat to us. Radon is "noble" gas, meaning it does not attach itself to anything and therefore can mix with and saturate soil gas. If there is a radium source near your home, you could have elevated levels of radon in the soil gas which can then be drawn into your home. Soil gas gets drawn into homes through cracks in the foundation, joints where concrete slabs meet foundations, penetrations through foundations and slabs, and through soil in crawl spaces. The vehicle by which soil gas can be drawn into your home is by means of negative air pressure in the lower levels of your home. This negative pressure is created by several means. Warm air in a home it will rise, the same way a hot air balloon rises. This rising effect of warm air causes negative air pressure where the warm air used to be, that is, in the lower levels of your home. Like sucking on a straw, soil gas is sucked into your home.

Once in your home, radon disintegrates through radioactive decay into four of what are called "radon decay products" or RDP's for short. These RDP's have a static charge, meaning they can and want to attach to another object such as walls, floors, furniture, clothing, dust, etc. Here's where the health risk of radon starts to materialize. When two of the RDP's, polonium 218 and polonium 214, attach to dust particles, they can be inhaled into the lungs where they will lodge and in a short time, radioactively decay, releasing an "alpha particle". The alpha particle, when released through radioactive decay in lung tissue, can strike DNA strands in nearby cells. Damaged cells can, over time, develop into cancer. This is the main threat that radon posses.

Exposure Risk
Lung cancer is one of the most deadly forms of all cancers, with a low survival rate. The incidence of lung cancer from radon exposure is function of radon exposure levels combined with exposure time. The greater the radon level and/or the exposure time, the greater the risk of lung cancer. This has been confirmed through many medical and radon studies over many years. Radon exposure studies can be found at the US EPA website link at the bottom of this page.

To give you some perspective of what we're dealing with, the level of radon in the air to which the EPA recommends you mitigate or fix a home is 4pCi/l (4 picoCuries per liter of air) or higher. At 4pCi/l there are 8.88 radioactive disintegrations per liter of air. (Remember, that's both radon and RDP's decaying at the same time). With an average person breathing in 12 liters of air per minute, there are 106.5 chances of disintegration in your lungs per minute. Multiply that by 60 minutes in an hour, it is possible to have 6393.6 radioactive disintegrations that can occur in your lungs per hour at the action level of 4pCi/l.

The good news? Radon can be measured and if needed, reduced to lower levels for less than what most people think.

Testing For Radon
Radon testing can be accomplished in different ways. You can pick up a radon testing kit at various hardware stores, drugstores, home improvement stores, through local and state governments, and on the internet. These types of kits are of the do-it-yourself variety. You must follow the directions carefully and send the kit to the designated laboratory in the specified time slot. You could also hire a licensed technician or professional to test your home, with results in most cases within 2 days.

In Illinois, testing for a real estate transaction must be performed by a licensed technician or professional. This guarantees accurate, reliable results. These tests are performed over a 2 day period.

Radon Mitigation
If levels of radon are found to be 4pCi/l (4 picoCuries per liter of air) or higher, it is recommended to mitigate (fix) the house. Mitigation costs on average are $800 to $1200 for most homes. When you consider the health risks associated to prolonged radon exposure, it is money well spent, not to mention the sense of relief it will provide you.

There are a variety of methods used to mitigate a home. Sealing cracks and holes in the foundation and floors is part of most mitigation programs. Usually a system with a vent pipe(s) and fan(s) is used to reduce radon. These systems do not require major changes to the home. Once a system to mitigate radon levels is completed, your home should be tested again by an independent source, to confirm the system is operating and reducing radon to acceptable levels.

Whether you have found low levels of radon or have a mitigation system in your home, the EPA and the State of Illinois recommend having your home tested every 2 years. This is because a house, like our own bodies, changes over time. These changes can affect how your home naturally "breaths" and can affect the radon levels in your home.

Pro-Techt Home Inspection Services can Help
Pro-Techt Home Inspection Services has Illinois licensed technicians available for your testing needs 7 days a week. We can schedule a test for pick up at your convenience or schedule it so it can be picked up at the conclusion of a home inspection.

The testing equipment Pro-Techt Home Inspection Services uses is professionally maintained and calibrated, as required by the State of Illinois. This equipment can show if it has been tampered with by someone. (A cause of concern for real estate transactions).

Visit our Radon FAQ page where you can read or download a pdf of frequently asked questions (link is at bottom of page).

To find more information about Radon you can visit the U.S EPA website at: http://www.epa.gov/radon/

and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Radon website at: http://www.radon.illinois.gov/