Lorene Bartos: Test homes for radon


Have you tested your home for radon? This is the time to do it, because it is National Radon Action Week. The purpose of this week is to draw attention to radon as a serious public health issue and, more importantly, to motivate Americans to take action to protect themselves. Radon is a health hazard present in elevated levels in about 50 percent of Nebraska homes.

Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless gas that is harmlessly dispersed in outdoor air, but it becomes dangerous when elevated levels become trapped in buildings.

The scientific research on radon has been formidable over the years and suggests that exposure to elevated levels of radon causes lung cancer in humans.

Air pressure inside your home is usually lower than pressure in the soil around your homes's foundation. Because of the difference in pressure, your house acts like a vacuum, drawing radon in through foundation cracks and other openings.

Testing homes for elevated levels of radon is simple and inexpensive. And, if discovered, radon problems can be fixed.

Testing your home for radon is as simple as opening a package, placing a radon detector in a designated area, and, after the prescribed number of days, sealing the detector back in the package and mailing it to a lab.

Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), a measurement of radioactivity. The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend homes with radon levels 4 pCi/L or greater be fixed.

Radon problems can be corrected by qualified contractors for a cost similar to many common home repairs such as painting or having a new water heater installed (anywhere from $500 to about $2,500).

A variety of methods can be used to reduce radon in homes. Sealing cracks and other openings in the foundation is a basic part of most approaches to radon reduction. The EPA does not recommend the use of sealing and caulking alone to reduce radon because, by itself, sealing has not been shown to lower radon levels significantly or consistently.

In most cases, systems with pipes and fans are used to reduce radon. Such systems are called a sub-slab depressurization systems.

These systems prevent radon gas from entering the home from below the concrete floor and the foundation. Similar systems can also be installed in homes with crawl spaces.

Radon reduction contractors also may use other methods depending on the design of your home and other factors.

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