The EPA Estimates 1 in 15 Homes in the US Have Unsafe Radon Levels. Has Your Home Been Tested?

Testing your home for radon helps ensure the health of loved ones inside. Radon testing your home is easy to overlook, but the air quality inside a home is a direct link to the well-being of your family. Radon build-up causes thousands of lung cancer deaths throughout the country every year. Protecting you and your family’s health starts by having your home professionally tested for radon. Pillar To Post offers continuous monitoring technology to conduct these tests, provide reliable results, and will recommend steps to mitigate unsafe radon levels if found.

What is Radon?

Radon gas is a colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas. It is formed by the breakdown of uranium, a natural radioactive material found in soil, rock and groundwater.

What is the Threat of Radon?

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. In the United States, the EPA estimates that about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year are radon related.

How Does Radon Get Into the Home?

When radon is released from the ground into the outdoor air, it is diluted into low concentrations and is not a concern. Within homes, it typically moves up through the flooring system into other openings and moves between the ground and living spaces. Your home can also trap radon inside, where it then builds up over time. Any home may have a radon problem – this means new and old homes, well-sealed or drafty homes, even homes with or without basements. This means you can live in an area with fairly low environmental radon, but you could still have significant levels in your home.

Here are the most common ways that Radon can enter your home:

Construction joints
Crack in the solid floors
Crack in the walls
Cavities inside walls
Gaps around service pipes
Water supply
Basement sump pumps
Fireplaces
Pipe entrances

Radon inspections for your home

The primary defense against the dangers that radon poses to your home is having a home inspector test it to detect unsafe or elevated radon levels. Pillar To Post Home Inspectors will help you protect against these dangers by detecting Radon gas building up in your home. By employing state-of-the-art testing equipment Pillar To Post Home Inspectors can accurately measure radon levels in your house. Gathering the data and helping you to understand this phenomenon will provide peace of mind as you look to make your home healthy for your family. Radon testing is the crucial first step in mitigating this potential danger.

Who Should Have Their Home Tested for Radon?

Testing for radon is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk. The EPA and Surgeon General recommend all homes be tested below the third floor. It is estimated that 1 in every 15 homes in the United States has elevated levels of radon. While some areas of the county are at higher risk than others the EPA warns that any home could have an issue with radon levels that only testing will make clear.

The Natural Dangers and Health Risks of Radon

Radon is a by-product of uranium as it breaks down presenting itself as a naturally occurring gas. There is no way to stop the decay of uranium, and no way to prevent this in nature. The only defense against radon gas build up is mitigation, which begins with testing for unsafe levels of radon by a Pillar To Post Home Inspector. Our professional inspectors will perform a radon inspection or a Healthy Home Inspection in your home at any time whether you already own or are considering the purchase of a new house.

Radon is dangerous, and not a hazard you want to leave to chance. Carcinogens are categorized based on their individual risk factors to people. Radon is a Class 1 or 1A gas, this categorization is reserved for all agents, compounds or mixtures known to cause cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the country and responsible for thousands of deaths each year. Prolonged exposure to radon gas causes cancer. Your Pillar To Post Home Inspector has the equipment and training necessary to accurately detect unsafe radon levels.

Myths and Facts about Radon

Some of the most commonly asked questions asked about Radon can be found below with the answers you need. Contact Pillar To Post Home Inspectors today to get answers to your questions surrounding radon build-up or radon inspections and get the piece of mind you deserve.

If my home was constructed on a concrete slab am I safe from radon?

Concrete slabs will not prevent radon entering your home. It cannot protect or act as a shield against radon exposure.
My parents’ home has high levels of radon and mine does not. The only difference is that they have a basement and I don’t. Can I assume they have a radon problem because of the basement being underground?

Having a basement or not is no safeguard against radon in a home. Any home style or design can have radon. Whether a portion of the home is underground does not matter.
Fact: Every region from coast to coast contains levels of radon. Some have higher concentrations, but it is prevalent from coast to coast. The only way to detect radon levels in your property is to have your home tested..
In a recent HOA meeting, we discussed that some homes had high radon levels while others that had been tested had very low results of 1. What are the chances that we have radon in our home if my neighbor had a test result of 1?

The only way to properly understand if your home has radon is to have it tested. Radon can be present in one home and not present in a neighboring structure. According to the EPA and Health Canada, every home should be tested for radon.

Fact: The placement of your furnace, HVAC, duct work and vents has no bearing on whether or not your home has radon present.
The results of a recent radon test came back with radon present in our basement. Are we safe from the effects of radon if we stay out of the basement?

Radon can move through other areas of your home. Avoiding your basement will not prevent radon exposure.

Fact: New homes are showing higher levels of radon as they are designed with increased porosity in mind for drainage surrounding the property. Although done for moisture control, it allows radon an ease of flow and permits it to permeate the home faster.
Looking at older versus newer homes, which ones are more likely to have radon problems?

The age of a home is not a consideration in regard to its radon levels. Newly constructed homes may show elevated levels due to porosity, but this doesn’t guarantee elevated or de-escalated radon levels.

Fact: A properly installed and functioning Radon Mitigation System does not guarantee a home is free from radon.
Our newly purchase home has a radon mitigation system installed. Should I still have the property tested for radon?

Yes, according to Health Canada and the EPA radon testing should be an ongoing process. A home can still contain radon even with an operating mitigation system. It is beneficial to continually test for radon to see how well the mitigation system is working and determine if you need to install another.

Fact: Radon can be found in any compound that contains uranium. This can include stone and marble.
Do marble countertops contain radon and if so, are they safe to have in my home?

The EPA and Health Canada advise that you should have your home regularly tested for radon. If you find that specific components of your property contain radon the decision to remove them is up to you.

Fact: Radon is scientifically proven to be a carcinogen. Organizations like the EPA, health Canada, the CDC, the WHO, the Surgeon General, the American Medical Association, the American Lung Association and many other supports the data and findings in their literature and operations. They recommend radon testing and work to spread this information world-wide.

If you would like more information on Radon visit:
USA: Follow Link
World Health Organization (WHO): www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/env/radon/en/