Radon Risk and Detection in the Home

Radon gas is present in every home in America in varying degrees.


It seeps into your home from the surrounding soil and sometimes from contaminated ground water.


It is the second leading cause of lung cancer, cigarettes are first.


There are approximately 21,000 deaths a year related to it.


Your family’s risk of developing lung cancer depends upon the average exposure level and the amount of time you spend there. The risk is greater for smokers.

Fortunately, radon is easy and cheap to detect and can be remedied easily.

Testing for it consists of a test kit that is available at your local big box supplier or almost any hardware store. After you have completed testing your home, you simply mail the kit to the manufacturer for analysis.

This testing fee MAY or MAY NOT be included in the purchase price of the test kit.

You have a choice of a short term or a long term testing kit.

Start with the short term test kit. The results will come back with a recommendation on how to resolve the problem.

Short term testing is the fastest way to determine if there is a potential problem.

The test usually takes from several days to several months to complete.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Short term testing should be done in the lowest living area of your home, with the doors and windows shut, during the cooler months of the year.

Long term testing is the most accurate way to determine how serious the problem is, but it can take up to a year to complete.

There are several different test methods utilized.

The three most common are:

• the charcoal canister;
• electret ion detector; and
• the alpha track detector.

• This gas is extremely hazardous to human health and it is all around us.

• It is a radioactive gas that is released from the decay of uranium in rock, soil and water.

• It is invisible, tasteless and odorless.

Your house could have different levels than your neighbor’s house.

When it surfaces in your yard, it simply dissipates into the atmosphere and does not accumulate.

The problem is that we build our homes very tight to contain the heating and cooling.

By keeping the house sealed and energy efficient, this allows the radon gas to concentrate.


The remedy is relatively simple.

• Get rid of the gas and do not allow it to accumulate.

• If there is a basement involved, make sure all cracks are sealed making it difficult for the gas to enter and have a ventilation system to extract the air in the basement.

• If there is a crawl space, installing high density polyethylene plastic as a ground cover will help, but may not resolve the problem.

• The best method is to hire a professional company that is certified in radon remediation and has been certified on its removal.

Your area of the country may be higher or lower.

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