What to do when radon comes for you
A silent and undetectable potential killer is on the loose in Butler County. Usually making its entrance through the basement before presenting itself to the rest of the home, this toxic assassin is known to linger in homes for years, slowly poisoning the inhabits until it is too late.
The good news is there is a solution to this latent radioactive murderer: Having your home tested for radon.
According to this years American Lung Association’s “State of the Lung” report, 40% of homes in Pennsylvania have a radon level greater than the recommended 4 picoCurie per liter, which could lead to an increase risk of lung cancer.
Butler County has a high potential for Radon gas poisoning.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recommends homes that have not had radon levels above 4 pCi/L and do not have a radon mitigation system to retest every five years or anytime there is a structural change, remodeling, HVAC system upgrade, excavating of the earth nearby or an earthquake.
If radon levels were previously detected and there is a radon mitigation system installed in the home the Pennsylvania DEP recommends to do a radon test at least every two years to be sure the system is working properly and continuing to reduce radon levels below 4pCi/L.
“The best time to test is during the colder months, when homes and buildings are closed and radon is most likely to be trapped and build up to higher levels,” the Pennsylvania DEP said in a Jan. news release.
Short term home test are available for around $30 at most local hardware stores. The Pennsylvania DEP also recommends testing in the basement, where Radon levels are usually the highest in the house.
Free radon kits are available through the American Lung Association’s website.
If the initial radon test result is between 4 and 8 pCi/L, the DEP recommends doing a second test, preferably a long-term test to get a better idea of the annual average.
Brian and Sandy Bacchus of Wexford specialize in testing and mitigation of radon levels for commercial and residential homes.
“The long-term test tends to test higher in the winter than the summer,” Sandy said. “The windows are closed, the ground is frozen and the closed conditions in the home make the test.”
Long-term radon testing kits are also available at local hardware stores and range from around $35 to $70.
“With the long-term test you put it in your house, in the basement, just like you would with a short-term test,” Sandy said. “But you let that test run up to at least 91 days up to one year. The longer you run it, the more information you accumulate and the more accurate the results.”
Brian and Sandy said they recommend running the long-term test for at least a “change of season.”
“When (the DEP) tells you your radon level should be less than 4 pCi/L, this is your yearly exposure,” Sandy said. “It’s just not for one short-term test.”
If the result of both test result in radon 4 pCi/L or higher corrective actions should to be taken.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that escapes from the ground into the air, decays and produces radioactive particles.
Removing radon from a home requires taking the gas and filtering outside where the particles will disperse.
“We will come out to the house and design a system,” Brian said. “Most of them are very much alike. There’s not a whole lot of variance from one home to another with the exception of new construction where the builder of the new home would have radon piping in place.”
A technician will core drill a home at the lowest level of the house, usually a basement. After digging out the material, a small air pocket is created under the floor, then a PVC pipe is inserted in the hole and sealed. The pipe will typically run up the wall of a basement to an electric pump outside that will pull the gas from the soil from underneath the home.
“We’re not actually taking the radon out of your home,” Brian said. “We’re taking the radon from under your home and ventilating it to the exterior where it dissipates.”
If a radon designated pipe is not already part of the foundation of the home, the pipe would go through the foundation wall near the ground level and run along the outside of the home.
“Obviously new construction where the pipe is all internal it’s more aesthetically pleasing because you don’t see anything from the outside,” Brian said. “On an older structure you’re going to see a radon pump on the outside and pipe running up the side of the house.”
The electric pumps — commonly known as a radon fan — are powerful fans about the size of a basketball. The fans are used to pull air from tight soil conditions.
They are a constant-duty appliance that run 24 hours a day. Most radon motors last eight to 10 years, according to Sandy and usually come with a manufacture’s warranty.
“They are very quiet,” Brian said. “They’re very energy efficient. They cost less than $4 a month to operate.”
Most installations take about two hours, according to Brian.
The cost of installing a radon system varies depending on the age and layout of the house. If a radon piping system is already built in the house the cost can run around $700. If a new mitigation system needs to be installed the average is around $1,200.
“Radon is easily remediated,” Sandy said. “It might take a little bit of time, but radon for the most part is easily remediated. It’s not very expensive to do it and it’s not very invasive.”
