Good Move Home Inspections: Our reports

Radon (noun) - A naturally occurring gas that becomes dangerous
during real estate transactions.

Pardon the attempt at humor on a serious topic. The fact is, many people
only think about radon when buying or selling a house. But the
radioactive gas poses a danger 24-7 and all year long. Are you
protecting yourself and your family?

In case you haven’t heard, radon causes an estimated 20,000 lung
cancer deaths in the United States every year. Only smoking causes
more lung cancer, and the risk from radon is far greater for people who
smoke or used to smoke.

Radon is present in the soil and the air worldwide. The threat arises when
radon builds up inside a house and the occupants breathe the invisible
gas over long periods.

U.S. health and environmental authorities have recommended for two
decades that every home be tested for radon. Because radon
concentrations in the home can change, authorities recommend that
homes be re-tested every two years -- even homes with radon mitigation
systems installed.

What will the test cost you? As little as $20 if you do it yourself with kits
available online and in home centers; more -- $110 to $150 -- if you hire
a state-certified radon tester to conduct the test with more sophisticated
equipment.

Either approach will give you a good idea of whether your home has
elevated levels of radon. If you do it yourself, be sure that the kit is EPA-
approved and that you follow the kit’s instructions for preparing your
home and handling, placing and shipping the test device to a lab.

Here are health and environmental agencies’ guidelines on when to test:

• When buying a home. If the seller can’t provide documentation of a
recent test, testing is recommended. [Radon is measured in “picocuries
per liter” (pCi/l), and the agencies recommend that a house be fixed if
the number is 4.0 pCi/l or higher.]

• If it has been more than two years since the last test on your home.

• If you have a radon mitigation system that has not been tested recently.
These systems can fail, and conditions in the home or below it may have
changed since the system was installed.

• If you plan to increase the time spent in low-lying areas of the home,
such as adding a family room, office or bedroom in a basement.

• If you are making structural changes that could allow more radon to
enter. Radon seeps in through cracks and openings between the ground
and the floor and walls of the home.

Beware of the many myths about radon.

Elevated levels of radon have been found in new homes and old, tight
homes and drafty. Homes with or without basements can have a radon
problem, and homes side by side can have far different radon
concentrations. Elevated levels of radon can be found in any
neighborhood.

Radon levels can almost always be reduced if yours is one of the
estimated 1 in 7 homes with a radon problem.

But the only way to know is to test. Then test again.

©2007 Good Move Home Inspections, Abington, PA. Reuse or reproduction freely permitted if
copyright information and link to www.goodmoveinspections.com are included.