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Contact:
Environmental/Resource
Development Agent
phone: 717/263-9226
email: grh5@psu.edu
Testing for Radon
Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer
among non-smokers, according to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
estimates. Overall, radon is the second leading cause of lung
cancer. Radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every
year. About 2,900 of these deaths occur among people who have never
smoked. According to the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP),
Radon is a
radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil and
rock and gets into the air you breathe. Radon is found in outdoor air and in
the indoor air of buildings of all kinds. It moves through the ground and
into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation where it can
accumulate to unsafe levels. Because it is odorless, colorless, and tasteless,
testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon.
There are simple ways to fix a problem if needed.
EPA recommends
homes be fixed if the radon level is 4 pCi/L (pico Curies per Liter) or more.
Because there is no known safe level of exposure to radon, EPA also recommends
that Americans consider fixing their home for radon levels between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. The average radon concentration in the
indoor air of
The only way to
know if you have a radon problem in your home or office is to test. According
to
A short-term test is the quickest way to
screen your home for a potential radon problem.
A short-term test remains in your home or office from two to 90 days,
depending on the device. A long-term test remains in your home or office for
more than 90 days. Because radon levels tend to vary from day to day and season
to season, a long-term test is more likely to tell you your year-round average
radon level.
Passive radon testing devices do not need
power to function. They include charcoal canisters, alpha track detectors and
charcoal liquid scintillation devices that are available in hardware stores,
drug stores and by mail. Electret ion chambers are generally only available
through certified testers or laboratories. Passive devices are exposed to the
air in the home or office for a specified period of time and then sent to a
certified laboratory for analysis. Active radon testing devices require
electrical or battery power to function. Continuous radon monitors and
continuous working level monitors require operation by certified testers.
DEP recommends testing the lowest livable
area of the building and considers the basement, if any, to be the lowest
livable area if it can be used as a living area without major structural
changes. For real estate transactions, this is true even if the basement is not
currently renovated into a finished living space because the buyer may renovate
and use the basement as a living space. Naturally, basements with ground floors
or low ceilings would need major structural changes and, therefore, would not
be considered the lowest livable area.
DEP recommends testing two or more locations, including the lowest
livable, if the house has separate structural zones such as a family room above
a crawl space or on a slab-on-grade.
In-depth radon information is available at
the EPA Radon Home Page (http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/index.html)
or by calling 1 (800) 23-RADON for a free information packet. For more
information on radon in Pennsylvanian go to the DEP homepage (http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/dep/site/default.asp),
click on “DEP Keywords” and then scroll down and select “Radon.”
George Hurd is the Penn State Cooperative
Extension Environmental/Resource Development Educator serving the Capital
Region. Penn State Extension in
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