Frequently Asked Questions About Radon, it's Risks, and Mitigation
We understand that the possibility of having high levels of radon gas in your Missouri home, office, or commercial building can be scary, and that you likely have a multitude of questions about radon testing and radon reduction.
Studies show that radon levels in Arkansas are higher than is safe, as well, and we can help answer your questions, and reduce radon risks in Arkansas too.
- It is likely that you are wondering about things like:
- How do I test for radon in my home, office or building?
- How much does it cost to test for radon?
- How can a radon mitigation system be installed in my home, office or building?
- How much does it cost to install a mitigation system?
- What is radon anyway?
- Is radon really that dangerous?
Radon Testing and Radon Reduction Questions Answered
Radon gas is a leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, causing nearly 20,000 lung cancer deaths annually. Testing for radon gas in your home, office, school or commercial building is easy and can be done with a DIY test purchased from sites like Amazon or professionally by The Radon Company.
If you find that your radon levels are above the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended safe amounts, call The Radon Company for a fast, free radon reduction consultation and radon reduction system quote. Levels of 4 or higher are considered unsafe by the EPA.
By installing a radon abatement system, you can protect the health of your family and loved ones, co-workers, students, or anyone else who is subject to the air in your home or building.
United States radon levels differ depending where the house, property, or commercial building is located; Missouri and Arkansas have both proven to have higher than safe radon levels, and radon levels can fluctuate depending on the season.
Radon gas is odorless and cannot be seen. The gas seeps into your home or building from underground, through crawlspaces and basements, cracks in the foundation, and even through your plumbing. A radon test should be done in your Missouri or Arkansas home every couple of years to be sure that you have low, safe or non-existent radon levels.
Our team members are standing by to assist you, and answer any questions you might have; meanwhile, however, we have taken the liberty of anticipating some of your questions and concerns and answering them here.
Should you not find the answers you are looking for, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 417- 597-9226 or fill out the form on the right.
We’d be happy to help you understand everything you need to know about radon, its risks, and how we can help identify, and mitigate, the problem if there is one.
Read our Frequently Asked Questions about radon:
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from uranium and radium in the ground. It is odorless, tasteless and invisible. Radon can be a problem in homes of all types: old homes, new homes, drafty homes, insulated homes, homes with basements, and homes without basements. Local geology construction materials and how the home was built are among the factors that can affect radon levels in homes.
The only way to detect the presence of radon gas in a building is to test for it.
Better ventilation will certainly move it around but will also cause a significant loss of conditioned air, as well as a utility drain. It's also hard to do in different seasons and still won’t prevent the entry of radon gas. With a properly installed mitigation system the radon gas will not even enter the home.
There is no known safe level of exposure to radon. EPA strongly recommends that you fix your home if your test shows 4 pico curies (pCi/L) or more. If your test shows between 2 and 4 pCi/L, consider installing a mitigation system to be on the safe side.
Congress has a set a long-term goal of reducing indoor radon levels so that they are no greater than exposure to ambient (outdoor) air. The average outdoor level is between 0.3 picocuries per liter (pCi/l) and 0.7 pCi/l, and while that level is not yet technologically achievable, many homes can be brought down to levels below 2 pCi/l. In the meantime, we are using a guideline of 4 pCi/l. This guideline was selected because the rule of thumb is to keep exposure to radiation as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA), and 4 pCi/l is a reasonably achievable radon level. Whether a home has 100 pCi/l, or 50 pCi/l, or 20 or 10 pCi/l, the current technology is able to bring the level down to below 4 pCi/l for a reasonable amount of money, with a reasonable amount of effort, over a reasonable period of time.
A picocurie is a unit of measure for radiation. A curie (named after French physicist Marie Curie) is a way of measuring radioactive decay or disintegration, and it equals 3.7 x 1010 disintegrations per second. "Pico" means "trillionth," so a picocurie is a trillionth of a curie, or one-trillionth of 37 billion disintegrations per second. To put this in perspective, a house having 4 picocuries of radon per liter of air (4 pCi/l) has about 8 or 9 atoms of radon decaying every minute in every liter of air inside the house. A 1,000 square foot house with 4 pCi/l of radon has nearly 2 million atoms decaying in it every minute.
No, not necessarily, but you could. Building materials construction as well as the sub strait will all have bearing on not only the existence of radon, but also the possible entry of radon gas. You would need to test the home to know.
According to the surgeon general, radon is a class A carcinogen, and linked to approximately 21,000 deaths per year. Remember, radon is a radioactive gas and its decay products can attach to the moist tissues in the lungs, causing lung cancer.
Not everyone who breathes radon will develop lung cancer. Your risk is determined by such things as how much radon is in your home (and/or workplace, school, or other indoor environment); the amount of time you spend in your home (and/or workplace, school, or other indoor environment); and whether you smoke or have ever smoked. The longer you are exposed, and the higher the radon level, the greater the risk.
Radon test kits are available from your local health department or they can be purchased at some hardware stores, home improvement centers, or other retail outlets. They can also be purchased on the internet.
If you need a professional tester to help you test your home, a home you're selling (as a realtor), or a home you're considering buying, The Radon Company offers pre-mitigation testing for $75.
- We offer a free radon mitigation bid
- We are license with the City of Springfield.
- We are certified with the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).
- We are certified with the National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP) in radon mitigation as well as measurement.
- We are members of the American Association of Radon Scientist and Technology (AARST)
- We are insured up to $1 million
- We give a one-year warranty on all our systems
- The Radon Company has been 100% successful in achieving Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended levels on every installation and we will continue to provide this unparalleled level of excellence for you in the future.