UNITS / TERMS:
Picocuries per liter (pCi/L) Radon is measured in picocuries per liter. One curie, named for Marie Curie, the person who discovered metallic radium, is the amount of radiation given off by one gram of radium. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends radon mitigation for levels of 4 pCi/L or higher. Remember, there is a difference between a recommendation and a standard. A recommendation is the suggestion or endorsement of something, or a favorable reference about somebody or something. A standard is a requirement established by law.
BACKGROUND FACTS:
Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water. Radon gets in the air we breathe. You cannot see, smell, or taste radon.
Radon from soil is the main cause of radon problems in homes and buildings. Typically, radon gas moves up through the ground into a building through cracks and holes in the foundation, and the building traps radon gas. Radon can also be found in well water and in a small number of cases, building materials can emit radon gas.
Pressure differences between soil, buildings, and the atmosphere dictate the flow of radon gas from higher pressures to lower pressures.
Radon levels are unpredictable and vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, from block to block, from home to home, and even within an individual home. Radon levels in a home can vary during different times of the year, and even different times of the same day.
Increasingly, consumers are inquiring about radon levels before committing to buying and/or renting.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: A Citizen's Guide to Radon
TESTING:
Homes and buildings should be tested for radon. Testing is simple and inexpensive.
Short-term radon tests remain in a building for two to ninety days. Charcoal canisters, alpha track, electret ion chamber, continuous monitors, and charcoal liquid scintillation detectors are common types of short-term tests. Radon levels change from day to day and season to season. Therefore, short-term test are less likely to indicate the year-round average radon level.
Long-term radon tests last more than 90 days, and therefore are able to more accurately quantify average radon levels of a home throughout the course of a year. Alpha track and electret detectors are commonly used for long-term tests.
With regard to testing, one option is for homeowners to test for radon prior to selling the home and to save the results. Real estate professionals may also want to consider working with sellers prior to the sale, encouraging sellers to be open to working with potential buyers in a number of ways to save time during a transaction and avoid complicating the sale. For example, Fidus might encourage sellers to consider sharing the cost of mitigation with potential buyers if the buyers are concerned about existing radon levels in the home or building.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon
MITIGATION:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends radon mitigation for levels of 4 pCi/L or higher. On average, it costs approximately $1,200 to fix radon problems in a home, and the cost can range from $800 to $2,500. Even qualified contractors cannot always achieve levels of 4 pCi/L or less.
Sealing cracks and other openings in the foundation of a building are a basic part of radon mitigation. In most cases, a system with a vent pipe(s) and a fan(s) is used to reduce radon. These "sub-slab depressurization systems" do not require major changes to the building.
State radon offices are a good resource and can provide information on qualified mitigation contractors in a given area.
Always consider that an existing radon mitigation system in a home is only as effective as it is functional.
It is always a good idea to negotiate having radon mitigation work done prior to closing, and within the timeframe of an extended inspection resolution deadline. This helps reduce the risk associated with the rare but not unprecedented situation in which radon concentrations cannot be reduced below the recommended action levels using common mitigation procedures. Examples of such situations include: a) where radioactive mine tailings have been used in concrete foundation materials, and b) where radon out-gassing from decomposing rock and soil is of a high enough concentration to require more than the ordinary mitigation approaches. In such situations, it's preferable to afford the buyer sufficient opportunity to see that radon concentrations can be brought below the EPA's recommended action level prior to closing, and preferably before the end of the extended inspection resolution period.
Professionals, buyers and sellers might protect themselves by getting a current copy of the declarations/coverage page from the mitigation contractor's general commercial liability insurance policy. The declarations/coverage page should clearly state that the mitigation contractor has sufficient coverage and is covered for the type of work to be performed.
