RADON 101

Radon is from the natural decay of Radium and Uranium in the soil. Depending on the type of soil or bedrock the structure is built over, will greatly effect the Radon levels in your home or place of business.

Radon Testing & Mitigation

Since Radon gas is odorless, it is a good idea to have the house tested during a property inspection. Some Counties require a passive system install during construction and these system are typically never tested, so the only way to know if the system is working or if you have it, is by testing.

 If a house is tested and reveals elevated level of Radon gas, the process is a simple one, in most cases. It's a matter of depressurizing the slab or crawl space and venting the gas that builds up under a strucure and releasing it into the atmosphere.

Older homes and homes with dewatering systems can be a bit tricky to mitigate, due to the lack of proper gravel under the slab and inaccessible access to crawl spaces.

I have designed and installed hundreds of mitigation systems and have never failed  the levels down below 4.0 pCI/l and most levels are well below 1.0 pCI/l. A mitigated house will typiclly have lower levels than a non mitigated house.

"Typically" radon levels are higher in winter months than the summer months, this has to do with the dynamic of the structure called the "Stack Affect".

Older home leak more air into a structure, than a newer homes. By making the structures envelope more air tight and energy efficent, the less "Make up" air can be drawn in through the building, via the walls and around window and doors. This creates a draw on the lower poration of a structure or slab and tends to pull the soil gases into the structure. Crawl spaces can draw the soil gas into the HVAC system and distrubuites the gas through the ductwork.

When conducting a Radon Test, keep in mind that the test is only captureing a 48 to 90 hour window on what the levels were in time frame. In a real estate transaction you do not have the luxury for a long term test. The longer the testing period, the more accurate the test. Example: Let's say the test come back at 4.1pCI/l after a 48 hour test. Does that house need to be mitigated? Was this reading a spike? You do not know and in a real estate transaction you do not have the proper time frame and I would recommend conducting a long term test. But if the test comes back at 10.0 pCI/l, then you have it and should be mitigated.