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Lockport IL
Handling a Hidden Home Hazard
Posted On: 12/31/2008You can’t see it, smell it or taste it, but its presence in your home could put you and your family at risk. No, the threat in question is not carbon monoxide, but something equally alarming yet often completely ignored: radon gas – an airborne, cancer-causing and radioactive gas that occurs naturally as rock, water and soil breaks down. Identifying if you have it and doing something about it should be high on your priority list as a homeowner, according to the experts.
“Radon is a gas that is breathed in and out. Small percentages of what is breathed in will stay in the lungs and irradiate the lung lining,” says Kelly Classic, certified medical health physicist with Health Physics Society, McLean, Va. “Radon is an alpha particle emitter, so the areas where the radon is deposited will receive a large dose of radiation.”
Radon is considered dangerous when levels reach 4 pCi/L (picocuries of radon activity per liter of air) or higher. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 1 in 15 homes in the United States has elevated levels of radon. For nonsmokers living in a home with 4 pCi/L, the lifetime risk of cancer is 7.3 out of 1,000, says Jennifer Taggart, an environmental attorney in Los Angeles.
“Radon can seep into your home from underground and quickly build up to dangerous levels,” says Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List, Indianapolis. In the United States, she says, radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking and the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers. Because your senses can’t pick up on it, testing is the only way to know if it’s a serious hazard to the health of you and your family.
Yet, a nationwide poll of Angie’s List members shows that 69 percent of respondents have never tested for radon in their home, Hicks says. Of those who did perform the test:
• 73 percent tested because they were buying or selling a home.
• 24 percent tested because they had heard or read about the dangers of radon.
• 29 percent who tested for radon found they had high levels.
Being a heavy gas, radon collects in basements and at floor levels, says Taggart. Homes with basement living spaces, built into hillsides and built on slabs are more likely to have unhealthy radon levels.
“Radon exposure is most common in homes with basements, but any type of home is susceptible to radon,” says Hicks. “Homes in cold weather areas seem to be more at risk because they’re closed up during those cold weather months. But every home should be tested regardless of whether it’s a new home, an old home or if it’s been tested before.”
The age of a home “has nothing to do with radon risk, since radon comes from the soil, not the structure,” says Nicole Persley, broker/owner at Homage Real Estate of Florida, Boca Raton, Fla. “In fact, newer homes could have higher radon levels than older ones because newer homes are designed with improved moisture control parameters and have better pore volume in the home’s surrounding soil. An ending result of this modern design is easier interior radon gas flow. If the right amount of radium is in the soil and there is a way for the radon to get in, it could be very dangerous.”
Checking for and controlling radon is especially critical if you have young children because of the long latency period and the potential for long-term exposure, says Taggart. “Also, recent research suggests that children who live in homes with high radon levels may have an increased risk for developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. Research has found that children exposed to intermediate levels of radon had a 21 percent higher risk of developing ALL compared to children exposed to the lowest levels.”
Factors that can increase radon build-up in a home include a well-sealed structure, foundation cracks, holes where pipes enter the house from the ground (i.e., water pipes in the basement) and the soil on which the house is built, says Classic. Well-sealed foundations and drafty windows and doors can actually decrease radon build-up.
“Keep in mind that the recommendation of 4 picocuries per liter also assumes that you are in the household 75 percent of the time,” says Classic. “So if you get a reading of 5 picocuries per liter but are home only 50 percent of the time, on average, you are technically below the recommendation for your person exposure, but you still need to decide if you want to remediate the problem or not.”
Classic says you can perform a short-term test with a home kit – preferably a kit using a track etch detector, which actually tells you how many alpha particles it came into contact with, which is considered more accurate than a kit with a passive type of detector. Home testing kits are usually sold at local hardware or home improvement stores and cost approximately $20 to $50.
“Most home tests take two days,” says Hicks.
“After the test, you typically seal the detector back in the package and mail it to a lab.”
“If the results are well below the recommended limit, you’re done and you’ve only spent as little as $20,” Classic says. If the results are well above the limit, you can perform a second test yourself or hire a professional to do longer-term test. If these results are also above the limit, radon remediation is advised.
To find the right radon inspector or remediation company, Classic recommends contacting your state department of health and requesting a list of certified professionals.
“I would suggest hiring someone independent for the measurement and someone else for remediation,” she says.
Professional radon testing can run between $100 and $300, says Hicks, who adds that many states certify or license radon contractors, a status you should inquire about before hiring anyone.
If remediation is advised, the best course of action will depend on your home’s structure and your budget. Many professional recommend installing a vent pipe system and fan and sealing foundation cracks to decrease and disperse radon gas. Costs for labor and materials can range from $800 to $3,000 or more, says Taggart.
As is the case with lead paint, if you’re considering selling your home and are aware of high radon levels, you are legally required to disclose this information to a potential buyer, Hicks says.
“If a known dangerous radon level exists in a home and it is not disclosed, the ramifications could become not only a financial nightmare to the negligent party, but tragic if someone were to become fatally exposed,” says Persley. “Radon testing is always a smart thing to do prior to selling a home. If there is a problem it can be mitigated, and if the levels are safe than it’s a positive key selling point that will make buyers feel safe.”
Each state has different case and statutory laws regarding a seller’s obligation to disclose defects like exposure to radon gas, says Neil B. Garfinkel, a New York-based attorney. So long as a seller doesn’t lie or intentionally conceal something to deceive the ultimate purchaser, they may not have a legal obligation to disclose if they are below a certain level of radon exposure. However, Garfinkel recommends consulting with a property attorney to learn your disclosure obligations.
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