Table of Content
Surgeon General recommend that all homes be tested for radon, as well as encourage everyone to spread the word about the health risks of radon. For details, visit the EPA National Radon Action Month webpage. Many continuous tests offer Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing you to connect them to your smartphone. This allows you to receive notifications and alerts if radon levels are too high. Make sure you retest a few months after your home is fixed to see if radon levels were reduced. Make sure you retest a few months after your home is fixed to see if a radon levels were reduced.
… This page is located more than 3 levels deep within a topic.
Why test for radon?
Radon gas trapped inside of your home can build up to unsafe levels. After years of exposure to it, you can develop severe health issues like lung cancer. Place your testing kit in a room on the first livable floor of your home. For example, if you have a family room in your basement, the kit should be placed in this room. If your basement is simply used for storage and nobody spends any significant time there, you should place it in a room on the first floor of your house. Try to avoid placing it in rooms where there may be significant moisture such as a kitchen, bathroom or laundry room.
According to the EPA, the levels of indoor air pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than outdoor levels. So, this is another great reason to test for radon—you’ll learn what is the highest level of radon that can be affecting you and your family. This system, known as a soil depressurization system, does not require major changes to your home. Sealing foundation cracks and other openings makes this kind of system more effective and cost-efficient.
How To Pass a Radon Gas Test
A special in-line radon fan is placed in the attic or outside the house to draw air through the vent and radon from under the basement floor. The easiest method is to run the vent out the side of the house and up to the eaves. Once set up, the mitigation system will remove air from the soil and send it outside the home.
Follow the instructions for leaving the kit in your house for the required number of days. Because radon gas can’t be seen or smelled, the only way to know whether you're being exposed to it is to test for it. A Citizen’s Guide to Radon, produced by the EPA, explains how to test your home for radon easily and inexpensively, and what to do if your levels are too high. Radon levels CAN be higher in winter months due to houses being closed up. The only way to know if your home has high levels of radon is to test.
Do all basements have radon?
Look at your home’s flooring.Certain types of flooring are more prone to radon issues than others. Caulk foundation cracks, construction joints, and other openings with polyurethane caulk. Testing your home from radon is the only way to know whether your house is safe, according to Family Handyman magazine, a sister publication of The Healthy. Between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/LConsider installing a radon reduction system. As with most home repairs, the cost of reducing radon in your home can vary widely, depending on how your home is built and what kind of system you need. Place the test kit in the lowest level of the home where people spend time .
Because of this difference in air pressure, your house acts like a vacuum, drawing radon in through foundation cracks and other openings. Radon may also be present in well water and can be released into the air in your home when water is used for showering and other household uses. In most cases, radon entering the home through water is a small risk compared with radon entering your home from the soil. When you get your radon test results, the measurement will be in picocuries (pCi/L). According to the EPA, any home with more than four picocuries of radon per liter of air should have radon mitigation performed to reduce dangerous gas levels. The World Health Organization recommends taking action at 2.7 picocuries.
Radon Testing and the 7 Key Things Every Homeowner Should Know
Exposure to the combination of radon gas and cigarette smoke creates a greater risk for lung cancer than either factor alone. Radon in the air is measured in "picocuries per liter of air" or pCi/L. Fortunately, radon does not generally present a health risk outdoors because it is diluted in the open air. Radon can, however, build up to dangerous levels inside a house, any other buildings, or caves. Radon gas has been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer, second only to cigarette smoking.
Radon levels are usually highest in the basement or crawl space. Radon is a radioactive gas that comes naturally from soil and rocks. Radon can build up inside your house and cause lung cancer if you breathe it in over many years. Any home can have a radon problem, no matter the foundation type. Testing your home is the only way to know if radon is a problem.
Follow the directions on the packaging for the proper placement of the device and where to send the device after the test to find out your radon level. Radon is colorless, tasteless, and odorless, so the only way to know if your house has elevated radon levels is to have your home tested. Depending on the size of your home, you may need more than one kit. In a large house, radon levels can vary across the house depending on how the house was constructed.
Call QUIT-NOW or visit CDC.gov/quit for free support and resources to help you quit smoking. Cover soil in crawl spaces with polyurethane plastic sheeting tightly attached to the walls. If you have a sump pump, install an airtight cover on it . If your living patterns change and you begin occupying a lower level of your home you should retest your home on that level. Radon levels can fluctuate based on temperature, humidity, rain or snow, wind speeds, the amount of ventilation in the home, and a variety of other factors. We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.
However, in many cases, professional help will be needed to install a radon mitigation system. If the results of your radon test exceeded 4 pCi/L, TDEC and EPA recommend that a follow-up test be conducted. If the follow-up test results also exceed 4 pCi/L, it is recommended that your home should be fixed to reduce the radon levels. Opening and closing doors and windows during the testing period will change the ventilation and temperature of the home which will temporarily change the radon levels as well. Radon gas finds its way from the soil into our homes, potentially making our living space a dangerous place to live.
No comments:
Post a Comment