See how radon, an odorless, colorless gas, enters your home and what to do about it. Learn more: bit.ly/1VaNMCp
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Transcript:
My home office is down here in the basement, the other day I was reading an article about radon and wondering if I might be at risk.
So just what is radon?
Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that's created by the decomposition of radium. Radium is a naturally occurring element found in all rock and soil to one degree or another. So whether or not a home has a radon problem depends upon how much radium is present in the soil that the structure is built upon. Testing is the only way you're going to know whether or not you have a problem.
Where is the highest concentration of radon likely to be?
Homes with finished basements are more susceptible to elevated exposures. So by all means, whenever testing you test the lowest lived in level of the home. So a family room in the basement constitutes that.
There are do it yourself radon testing kits available that are easy to use. Set the unit in place, leave it undisturbed for the prescribed amount of time, then send the device to a testing lab for results.
I've decided to have the tests professionally done. Another online search leads me to Home Spec, a local home inspection company specializing in radon. The next day, Ross Prevett comes by the house and sets up an electronic radon detection and measurement monitor in the finished portion of the basement. Two days later, he returns and downloads the test data. The results show that the amount of radon in my basement is 50 percent higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's action level of 4.0 picocuries per liter. Based on this EPA standard, I'm substantially above the level at which action should be taken to reduce radon concentrations, but just what kind of a health risk does this pose
Based upon extensive exposure there's an increased risk of lung cancer. Radon is thought to be the number one leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in the general population, after smoking.
I know I've got elevated radon levels and I also know that that can be a serious health hazard. So I'm going to have to do something about it. I'm going to go online here and look under radon mitigation.
A search revealed several local companies and I decided to contact this one, Connecticut Basement Systems Radon. After an initial consultation, I elected to have them do the work. A few days later, Rafael and Javier arrived to install the system. A Radon mitigation system draws air from beneath the basement slab through a hole bored into the floor. A pipe or duct is inserted into the hole and run outside where an inline fan expels the air and radon gas above the roofline, but how does radon get into the home in the first place?
Radon enters the home via many different entry points, through the ferocity of the concrete itself, through openings in the floor, whether it be through floor cracks, openings in the perimeter, floor drains and sump holes or dirt crawl spaces. Anywhere, where there's any kind of permeability and there's a source underneath the home, radon will find a way in.
Before the actual installation begins, the technicians bore two test holes on opposite sides of the basement floor. They apply suction to one of the holes and use a vacuum meter on the other. This test will verify that air beneath the slab can in fact be evacuated.
With the test complete, a three inch hole is bored through the basement floor. A section of PVC pipe is inserted into the hole and the gap around the pipe is sealed. Three inch PVC is now run across the basement, the joints are cemented and the pipe itself is hung from the joists with J hook pipe hangers. The pipe run is then connected to the vertical section coming up from the floor. Once it's determined where the pipe will exit the basement, a smaller locator hole is poured through the room joist. Then a three inch hole saw bores a hole large enough for the pipe. A section of PVC is inserted through the hole and connected to the pipe run inside.