What is radon?  What are the health effects?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is found throughout the world.  It is a colorless, odorless gas that comes from common, low level deposits of uranium in soil, rock and water.  Outdoors, the gas is dispersed into the atmosphere and diluted into very low concentrations.  Indoors, the gas can be trapped in buildings and can be harmful, especially at elevated levels. 

Radon is the second leading know cause of lung cancer in the United States.  Radon gas is inhaled into the lungs where it undergoes radioactive decay.  The energy from this decay is absorbed by the lungs and harms the sensitive tissue.  The damaged tissue can develop cancer.

Radon enters homes from the soil surrounding a home through cracks in the foundation or walls, through hollow block walls, and through openings for floor drains, pipes and sump pumps.  As warm air rises in a home, it creates a slight vacuum in the basement that is filled with air containing Radon gas seeping through any opening that it can find.

Radon levels in West Virginia are generally in the mid and upper levels due to the natural abundance in the local soils.  Mining activities, as well as other soil disturbing activities such as road work, will elevate the levels.  These activities are analogous to stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce to get a better smell of the aroma; more gas is released by the stirring.

Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), a measurement of radioactivity.  The US EPA and the Center for Disease Control recommend that homes with Radon levels of 4 pCi/L or greater be fixed.  The level of 4 pCi/L or greater is the action level.  Some organizations, particularly the World Health Organization, recommend action at lower levels than 4.0 pCi/L. 

What is a Radon test?  Can I perform the test myself?

The only way to know if your home has elevated levels of Radon gas is to test.  Soil conditions and composition under each home is unique.  Living in an area of lower incidence only means that, on average, Radon levels are lower.  Similarly, knowing that the level of Radon gas in one or several neighbors’ homes is below action level does not mean that your house will be similar.  Radon levels are documented to vary widely form house to house in the same neighborhoods. 

We perform a short-term (usually 48 hour) test for Radon levels.  All conditions of the EPA protocol for performing the test are followed to ensure that the results are reliable.  Our tests are performed using a Sun Nuclear Continuous Radon Monitor, Model 1028.  The monitor, which acts similarly to a Geiger counter, records the radon level every hour and calculates the average radon level over the measured time period.  When the test is complete, the monitor provides a computerized record of the test, including the hourly readings.  Results are generally available within a few hours of the test being complete. 

For the results of a Radon test to be useable in a real estate transaction in West Virginia, the test must be performed by a licensed Radon tester such as us.  You may perform the test yourself using kits available from a variety of sources.  The kits are usually canisters of activated charcoal that need to be deployed for 48-96 hours.  The kits are then sealed, mailed to a laboratory for analysis, and results available several days after the test is completed.  Even if the results of the test indicate high levels of Radon gas, they have no standing in any real estate activity.  However, we do encourage you to perform such a test yourself after you move into your home if you do not hire us to perform the test as part of the purchase of your home.

The report that we provide you is in two parts.  The first is the written report including the results from the test.  The second is the print out from the monitor that includes the hourly measurements and a chart giving a graphical picture of the measurements.  Click to view a sample report and a monitor print-out.  Additionally we include a printable copy of the EPA publication “Citizens Guide to Radon (EPA-402-K-09-001 Jan 2009)” and, if your levels are 4 pCi/L or higher, a printable copy of “EPA Consumers Guide to Radon Reduction (EPA-402-K-06-094 Dec 2006)”. 

We encourage you to retest your home every two years or whenever any remodeling activities disturb the foundation or the soil around the foundation.  Retesting will ensure you that the conditions have not changed sufficiently to cause the Radon levels in you home to climb above the action level. 

What can I do if the Radon levels are high?

A variety of methods can be employed to reduce Radon levels in your home. Sealing cracks and other openings in the foundation is a basic part of most approaches to radon reduction.  Such repairs by themselves are generally insufficient to consistently lower the Radon levels.  Depending on the type of foundation that you home has, different methods are used to lower the Radon levels.  Most employ a system of fans and pipes to move Radon gas from below your home to the exterior.  You may install such a system yourself but we recommend that a licensed contractor perform the work.  Contractors who install these devices or perform any other radon reduction activities must be licensed in West Virginia as Radon Mitigation Contractors.   After your Radon mitigation system is installed and operating, your home should be retested for Radon levels to ensure that the levels have dropped to below the action level of 4 pCi/L. 

Resources 

EPA Radon – www.epa.gov/radon - Has a lot of information about resources, testing, and remediation.  The site also provides links to its various publications on Radon facts and guides. 

West Virginia Radiation, Toxics and Indoor Air Division –  www.wvdhhr.org/rtia/radon.asp - This is the WV site.  It has a lot of overlapping information with the EPA site, and has specific WV information.