What I’ve Learned About Radon

So many caveats here . . first, I am not an expert. In fact, I know very little about anything but especially radon. Please, if you live in an area where radon levels can be high, please read what I’m stating, do your own research, talk to an expert or two . . probably someone who is not trying to sell you anything. Second, Vince is an environmental engineer, with degrees from Georgia Tech, Clemson and Tulane. He knows more about radon than I do but he isn’t an expert in radon detection or remediation. He understands much more than most of us do about government regulations, what and why some things get priority treatment and some things don’t; and he understands, and I hate to say it this way but it’s almost true, risk vs. reward. There’s a whole lot of reading between the lines that can be done there.

But in the last two weeks, we’ve learned a lot and I think it’s sad and ridiculous that we don’t know more than we know and even when we seek help from an expert, I don’t feel what we get is always “expert” advice.

Second caveat: Not all states have radon issues. Even though one part of a state may have issues, another part of the same state may not. According to this list, Missouri rates #27 in states affected by radon, where the average reading is 4.3 pCi/L. This is an EPA site that lists resources for each state.

Third caveat: My recent medical issues were not related to radon. Because we knew this area had a lot of mining and potential radon issues, we had our house tested before we bought it and were told it was fine. We read a little about it and learned that testing should be done at least every two years but not in the summer (ours was done in July) so we waited til winter to get a second test done. Vince said “for the cost of having the house tested, we can buy a test unit and get continuous testing” so that’s what we did and that’s what started all this.

The most important parts of this post:

• According to this CDC website: Since there is no safe level of radon, reducing radon inside your home or building will always help reduce your risk of lung cancer, even when the level in your home is less than 4 pCi/L.
• Most sites on the internet say remediation needs to be done when levels reach 4 pCi/L.
• This is what gets me the most: You can have a radon test on a given day (and I realize the little machine has to sit there for several days to get an average) and get a low reading and think you’re ok. The next week, the levels may be in the danger zone but you don’t know that because the test has been performed and the testing apparatus has been removed. This article is written by the company that sells home test gadgets so be aware they have something to sell but from what we’ve found, the info is accurate.
• Missouri and other states may as well, will send a free kit for testing but they only send them out in September or October – May (I think those are the dates) because the levels are always lower in the other months. So, getting a once and done test is probably not going to give you a true picture of your own radon situation. It will tell you the results for that time period in which they are testing.
• From the MO Department of Health & Senior Services: Any home may have a radon problem regardless if it is new or old, with or without a basement. I always thought it was only basement houses but houses without a basement on a concrete foundation or houses off the ground can have radon issues. Of course, basement houses have more exposure to the ground so they probably have a better chance of having an issue.

This morning I was ranting about it and Vince said “Judy! You have to realize radon is way down on the list of what people are concerned with. Most people text and drive. You think they care about radon risk?” True!

According to this article, about 21,000 people die each year. Based on this website, less that .5% of the homes in our county have been tested for radon. That info is based on info from 2005 – 2015 so hopefully people have learned more about radon and are doing more testing since then. There are several homes that we know of near us that have radon mitigation systems installed, which tells me there’s a good chance more homes need the system.

“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.”

EPA.gov

Risk may not matter until YOU are one of those numbers.

According to what I’ve read .. again, I’m no expert . . but radon exposure doesn’t instantly cause cancer.

What are the symptoms of radon exposure? There are no immediate signs or symptoms from breathing in background radon. Repeated exposure over time — around 20 years — can lead to cancer development, especially if you are also a smoker.

Cleveland Clinic

Like Vince said, most people look at the risks, look at how long the exposure takes and figure it isn’t worth worrying about.

Downstairs, we will have a 2.15 reading one day. The next day it may be 7.14 and the next day, it may be 5.6. Today is a 5.6 day. It is 24 degrees at 9 a.m. and feels like 17. Our windows are open and the heat is going, along with a space heater downstairs. I told Vince the electric bill this month is going to be more than the cost of having the radon mitigation system installed.

I’m not even going to link to the radon meter we bought because I don’t want anyone to think I’m trying to sell something or make a commission on these things. If you feel you need this, check them out and decide which one is best for you. The one we bought was about $150. Some are more; some are less.

The mitigation system isn’t outrageously expensive. Our estimate is about $1,400. The lowest price could have been lower but we opted for a larger fan and there was another option that added $200 more and I don’t remember what that was but when the system is installed, I’ll post pictures and find out what added to the cost.

When this all started, I was thinking it would be much more. We also had an electrician install a new breaker with an outlet only for the radon fan. That wasn’t necessary but it’s what Vince wanted. We haven’t gotten the bill for that yet so that’s probably another $200 – $300. I understand that $1,400 is a lot of money but probably one of the least expensive “fixes” we’ve made to any home where we’ve ever lived when you think about new HVAC, add an additional water well, new windows, new appliances, etc. and of all those things, getting rid of radon is probably a bigger priority.

I understand that there are way more important and pressing things we deal with each day but I would hate for even one person to develop lung cancer because they didn’t know about the risk of radon and could have learned more and possibly prevented it so that’s why I’m sharing what we’ve learned.