Radon Is Easy To Detect And Reduce In A Home
The danger posed by radon can be detected rather easily through inexpensive do-it yourself testing, or through a trained radon contractor. If you want to find a radon tester in your area try Illinois Radon Testers. Radon test kits can be purchased by mail order or in hardware stores and other retail outlets, your local health department may also supply test kits for a small fee.
What Do Your Radon Test Results Mean?
The amount of radon in the air is measured in “picocuries of radon per liter of air,” or “pCi/L.”
Sometimes test results are expressed in Working Levels, “WL,” rather than picocuries per liter of air. A level of 0.02 WL is usually equal to about 4 pCi/L in a typical home.
Any radon exposure has some risk of causing lung cancer. The lower the radon level in your home, the lower your family’s risk of lung cancer.
EPA recommends fixing your home if the results of one long-term test or the average of two short-term tests taken in the lowest lived in level of the home show radon levels of 4 pCi/L (or 0.02 WL) or higher.
A short-term test remains in your home for 2 days to 90 days, whereas a long-term test remains in your home for more than 90 days. With today’s technology, radon levels in most homes can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below.
Should the Company Performing Your Radon Test Also be Your Radon Reduction Contractor?
In Illinois it is illegal for the mitigation and testing company to do both the testing and repair of radon at the same home. Ideally the company that performed the first test should do the retest after a mitigation system is installed, that way you have the same set of standard for both tests.
The EPA says: Be aware that there is potential conflict of interest if you use the same company to conduct both the test and the radon mitigation of the home. If the same radon testing professional also offers to do radon mitigation of the home, make sure that the testing is done according to the Testing Checklist.
