The holidays are upon us! People are busy assembling their homes with festive decorations making way for guests, fun, laughter and celebration. Seasons greetings are shared with wishes of peace on earth and good health.
Long term exposure to elevated radon levels has been proven to cause lung cancer and possibly affect other organs in the body. Give the gift of peace of mind with a healthy home and plan to test your home for radon in the the coming year. The only way to know if radon is an issue in your home is to test for it.
Test Your Home for Radioactive Radon Gas…Protect Your Family!
The popular new real estate trend appears to be knocking down older homes in need of repair and building new. This trend eliminates many concerns inside the home that plagues older homes such as older heating systems, horse hair plaster, lead paint, etc. yet there can be a host of new concerns to be aware of.
With new construction, homes are tighter with state of the art insulation, energy efficiency, smart home potential with built-in electronics, reduced maintenance, green building products and the beauty of being able to customize your new space.
Building materials, depending on where they are sourced, may contain radioactive materials in them. Some materials maycontain naturally-occurring radioactive elements like uranium, radium and thorium. These affected materials can be concrete, gypsum, sandstone, granite, natural stone and others. The resulting decay product of the breakdown of these elements is radon.
Ask your builder if any of the building materials used in the new construction contain these elements and if they followed EPA Building Codes for a Radon-Resistant New Construction. In MA in 2015, radon requirements were introduced into the state’s building code. Check your state to identify what the guidelines are.
New construction can address potential radon in a home by installing a sub-slab passive system that can easily be activated if the radon levels are elevated noted by testing. Testing is the only way to know if elevated radon levels exist. If elevated, a passive system is activated by installing a fan used to draw the radon out of the home from under the slab. Re-test post fan installation or if there is no passive system in place, re-test after a sub-slab depressurization system is installed.
Radon, a colorless, odorless and tasteless Class A carcinogen sourced from the natural breakdown of uranium in rock and soil, has been proven to cause lung cancer with prolonged exposure of elevated levels. Radon builds up in homes and buildings because it becomes trapped. The only way to know if your home, school or workplace has elevated levels is to test.
Elevated levels should be addressed professionally by a certified radon mitigator. A radon mitigation system is designed to reduce the indoor radon levels in a home or building. The benefit of reducing radon levels is a reduced risk of developing lung cancer. Radon mitigation systems are effective within 24-48 hours of installation and will maintain reduced radon levels as long as the fan is operating and properly maintained. The fan should be operating 24/7 for maximum results. It is highly recommended to re-test for radon levels 24-48 hours post system installation and every 2+/- years thereafter. Testing every 2+/- years is to assess the system’s integrity and the fan’s functionality.
Professional radon mitigators are skilled in the general construction of a building and this is imperative so proper placement of a sub-slab depressurization system is most effective. There is a time and a place for DIY projects and in this case, go with the pros for the safety of your family. A poor or ineffective installation by a homeowner with limited knowledge of the process can be dangerous to one’s health. Why take the chance!
A radon mitigation system is one of the least expensive home improvement projects with the maximum results/benefits. To find an NRPP-AARST professional, go to the source: http://aarst-nrpp.com/wp/certification/database-search/