Radon: A serious problem with easy solution
Present in about 40% of homes in Pennsylvania, radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer, but it is easily detected and remediation is relatively inexpensive.
Radon is a colorless and odorless naturally occurring gas formed by the decay of radium atoms from uranium in soil and rock. The amount of radon that escapes from the soil to enter a house depends on several factors including weather, soil porosity and soil moisture, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Pennsylvania has one of the highest incidence of radon among states in the country, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The DEP recommends testing using a kit that can be purchased at hardware or home improvement stores for $20 to $30 or hiring a state certified testing company.
If a test detects 4 picocuries per liter of air or more in a home, the DEP recommends taking corrective action.
Due to the prevalence of radon in the state, many new homes are built with radon remediation systems, and radon testing is an optional part of home inspections performed as part of the sale of existing homes.
Most buyers of existing homes that don’t have remediation systems choose to have a radon test, said Chuck Swidzinski, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
“It’s not abnormal for houses in the area to have it,” Swidzinski said. “A house on one side of a street can have over 100 (picocuries), across the street zero. Every house is different.”
Houses that have a high percentage of the basement underground typically, but not always, have radon, he said.
Home remediation systems usually come with lifetime warranties, Swidzinski said. An installer replaced the exhaust fan of a remediation system that was found not to be working at a recent home sale inspection, he said.
John Shaffer, owner of Radon Control Services in Allegheny County, said the installation of a remediation system in a house can be completed in a day.
The process begins by finding an ideal place in the basement for the installation.
“We have to be savvy about where it goes in the home. We have to make the air movement that is going to affect the lowest livable space in the home,” Shaffer said.
A 4-inch hole is drilled into the cement floor and into a basement wall above the hole in the floor. A 5 gallon bucket full of material is removed from the hole in the floor to create a suction pit that collects air containing radon gas.
Then a plastic pipe is installed from the hole in the floor through the hole in the wall and is extended outside of the home, he said.
A fan is connected to the exterior pipe to draw gas out of the suction pit. Another pipe runs from the fan to above the roof to discharge the air and gas, he said.
The installation costs between $1,100 and $1,200.
“I guarantee the work to reduce the level to less than 4 picocuries,” Shaffer said.
He said he tests the radon level before and after installation of a remediation system.
Many new homes are built with passive remediation systems that consist of a pipe that runs from the basement floor, through the interior and to the roof, he said.
“Some of these new homes may have the piping in place. Then we install connecting pipe and the fan,” Shaffer said.
The fan measures 12 inches in diameter and 16 inches tall, and is shaped like a garbage disposal. Some people call them UFOs, Shaffer said.
DEP has a directory of certified radon testers and mitigators at www.dep.pa.gov/Business/RadiationProtection/RadonDivision.
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