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Every house has what’s called a “unique pressurization signature.” This is the result of the heating, ventilation, plumbing and drainage systems working together. Always test radon levels again after you’ve made any of these changes. Periodically check on the equipment to ensure it is operating correctly. Contact your contractor if there are any issues or malfunctions. Also, fans need replaced about every 5 years, and filters, like for a heat recovery ventilator, may need changed as often as every 6 months.
All entry points , cracks, drains, and openings can be filled with urethane foam. Wall and floor joints can be sealed with polyurethane membrane sealants. Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas formed by the radioactive decay of the small amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils. Every new home should be tested for radon after occupancy. Test your home even if it has the radon resistant features.
Radon and Your Health
However, caulking, sealing, and painting will not effectively lower radon levels. Many homes and some workplaces have a suspended ground floor with a space underneath. Good ventilation of this space can reduce radon concentrations. Talk to your builder about installing a radon reduction system. You can obtain free copies of the EPA's Model Standards and architectural drawings and use them to explain the techniques to your builder. Let your builder know that the radon resistant features can be easily installed with common building practices and materials.
An experienced expert usually applies varying techniques to lessen the radon concentration levels. These are ways that you are not conversant with and fully equipped to execute. Always test again after finishing to make sure you’ve fixed your radon problem.
What is Radon, and How do I Get Rid of It?
High levels of radon can cause lung cancer, particularly for smokers and ex-smokers. Radon produces tiny radioactive particles in the air we breathe. Radiation from these particles damages our lung tissue, and over a long period may cause lung cancer. It is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and invisible to the human eye. If you have high levels of radon in your home, you won’t notice any immediate adverse effects.
Since you cannot see or smell radon, special equipment is needed to detect it. When you’re ready to test your home, you can order a radon test kit by mail from a qualified radon measurement services provider or laboratory. Sending the kit to appropriate sources to determine radon levelFollow the directions on the test kit packaging to find out where to send the device to get the results. Getting your house tested for radon can cost between $350 to $450, including the service, testing, and a report. All foundation and wall cracks should be sealed and caulked.
What are symptoms of radon poisoning?
An active radon sump, fitted with a fan, is the most effective way to reduce indoor radon levels. Sumps work best under solid floors and under suspended floors if the ground is covered with concrete or a membrane. Occasionally, passive sumps without a fan may reduce radon levels. You will be directed to the AARST/NRPP, NRSB website where you can search for qualified professionals in Utah.
The most common method is to have a vent pipe system and fan installed, which pulls radon from beneath the house and vents it to the outside. Radon is a gas that occurs naturally outdoors in harmless amounts. It’s produced from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks. It sometimes gets concentrated in homes built on soil with natural uranium deposits.
Radon levels can be lowered, and homes can be built radon-resistant. Radon levels less than 4 pCi/L still pose a risk, and in many cases, may be reduced. The American Cancer Society offers programs and services to help you during and after cancer treatment. We can also help you find other free or low-cost resources available.
There are several methods that can be used to reduce high radon levels. Use our interactive tool to help you decide whether you need to reduce your radon level and if so how. An electrical junction box is included in the attic to make the wiring and installation of a vent fan easier. For example, you decide to activate the passive system because your test result showed an elevated radon level (4 pCi/L or more).
For a quick snapshot of your radon levels, usually preferred in real estate transactions, a short-term test lasts from 3 to 90 days. Long-term tests give a broader picture of level fluctuations, lasting 91 days or longer. Long-term tests give you a better sense of what is happening in your home from day to day as well as season to season. Radon gas enters your home through a suction-like process. The air pressure inside your home is typically lower than the pressure in the soil below and surrounding your foundation. This pressure difference turns your house into a vacuum, sucking radon out of the ground and moving it upward into the living space through foundation cracks and gaps.
Cover this layer or your crawlspace floor with plastic sheeting to stop radon gas from moving past that level and into your home. Passive radon systems usually consist of a PVC vent pipe which runs up through the home and vents through the roof. A passive radon system depends on the “thermal stack effect” to act as a vacuum and draw the radon up and out of the structure. If you only have a fan blowing out of the house, you could increase negative pressure, which creates more vacuum on the soil. If the levels in your home or office are 4 pCi/L or higher, you should take steps to reduce the radon. Cracks and openings in the building can allow radon to flow into your home or office.
Simple and inexpensive techniques reduce radon levels on average by 50%. The techniques may also lower levels of other soil gases and decrease moisture problems. These tests are crucial to ensure that the radon is within the stipulated or desired threshold. A radon test kit is therefore essential in the final and later stages of radon mitigation in a bid to rid the house of this gas by ensuring that it is effectively shut out and kept at bay.
A separate junction box is placed in the living space to power the vent fan alarm. An alarm is installed along the vent fan to indicate when the vent fan is not operating properly. If radon levels in your home are high, you can take steps to lower them.
Whenever possible, have several windows open on the lowest level of your home or office, which is closest to the soil and source of the radon. Even a small crack allows fresh air to flow in, lowering the concentration of radon in the air. You can opt to open windows on upper levels as well to allow air to flow throughout the entire space. Guidance on how to reduce radon levels in cellars and basements.
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