Is Radon Gas Really That Big of a Risk?
The longer we work in the field of real estate, the more apparent it becomes to us that radon gas is a significantly unexplored subject. Most people have heard of it and are vaguely aware of the risks, while others go to extremes and tell you not to quit smoking because it’s really radon gas that causes lung cancer.
The truth is something of a mix between the two positions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General’s Office have estimated that as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths are caused each year by radon. With a nod to that occasional person who says smoking doesn’t cause lung cancer, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking.
That seems kind of important then, right? What is radon gas, and how does it affect homes?
Radon is a gas that occurs naturally outdoors, produced from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks. We’re around it every day, but in open-air environments and in the concentrations its normally in, radon gas is pretty much harmless (we say “pretty much” because, as we’ll go into further in a minute, there is no such thing as “safe” levels of radon gas according to the EPA).
The health risks of radon gas are primarily confined to the lungs, because when the gas is breathed in, they’re exposed small amounts of radiation. The amount of radiation isn’t high enough to cause external effects, but the sensitivity of the lungs opens the pulmonary system to potential risks. Like smoking, the radiation can damage the cells and lead to higher chances of lung cancer. The effect is also cumulative, much like the effect of smoking for years: the risk of lung cancer is higher in those who have lived for many years in a radon-contaminated house.
For the most part, radon gas just doesn’t naturally occur in large enough amounts to be of real risk in outdoor environments. Problems occur when it becomes concentrated in closed or unventilated spaces. This means it can potentially accumulate in your home, but the risk is higher in homes built on soil with natural uranium deposits.
The gas enters through cracks in the foundation or walls because it’s produced in the ground and rises upward, which is why radon levels are usually highest in the basement or crawl space. So to be clear here, radon only really starts having deleterious effects in certain circumstances, but when those circumstances are concurrent, then you’ve got a potential problem.
How do you know if you’ve got a potential problem, though? It’s not like you can pull up maps of high-uranium soil in the US, right? Actually, you totally can.
Even if you don’t live in a high-risk area, you should still get your home tested, and if you’re moving, make sure that radon gas testing is part of the inspection.
There are two basic types of radon gas testing devices, passive and active. You can order a radon test kit and set it up yourself or you can hire a professional to perform the test.
Passive radon gas testing kits are for the DIY-types among you who aren’t in a hurry. They don’t need power to function and use charcoal canisters that are exposed to the area in your home for a predetermined amount of time (usually 48-96 hours) and then sent to a laboratory for analysis.
If you’re pressed for time or are purchasing a home, you’ll probably want to go with an active testing mechanism, which tend to be used by professionals and home inspectors. They’re quicker to give results, but are obviously more expensive. These devices continuously measure and record radon in the air, making radon spikes and dips more apparent. They’re generally considered to be more reliable than passive radon devices.
A home inspector or air quality professional will know to do this, but If you’re using a passive testing kit yourself, the EPA recommends that you perform radon tests on the lowest level of the home that could be used for living space without doing renovations.
Choose a room that is used regularly, but do not use the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room or a hallway. Since crawlspaces and basements have the highest risk, consider placing a testing kit there as well. Keep windows and doors in the tested room shut except for normal entry and exit. For tests lasting less than four days, make sure windows and outside doors are closed for at least 12 hours before beginning.
As we mentioned in the beginning, there’s no level of radon gas that’s considered safe. About 0.4 pCi/L of radon is found in the outside air and the average indoor radon level is about 1.3 pCi/L. If levels in your home are above 4 pCi/L, then you’ll want to mitigate that in some way. The best methods are sealing up any cracks in the lower levels of the home and/or foundation and adding ventilation. For more extreme cases, you can also add sub-slab depressurization, which is a complex system that pulls air from beneath your home and uses a fan to ventilate it outside and away from the building.
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– Get It Right Solutions LLC