You may or may not have heard about the seriousness of radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that tends to sit deep in the earth. Radon can affect people that are in close proximity of it and that breathe large amounts of it. Some areas of the country are more at risk of radon gases. However, other parts of the country do have high volume amounts of radon, but local residents know very little about it. How can you test for radon in your area and home and how important is it to have these local radon testing services completed?
The serious effects of radon
Radon can be especially dangerous, especially when you breathe large amounts of it. When you have radon surrounding your house, you are likely to exceed safe levels of radon air quality. In fact, a family whose home has radon levels of 4 pCi L is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow if that family was standing next to the fence of a radioactive waste site. The difference, however, is that these families are unaware that they are being exposed to such large amounts of radon. Thus, local radon gas testing is needed.
These high levels of radon exposure can lead to many serious medical conditions. Scientists estimate that lunch cancer deaths could be reduced by 2 to 4%, or about 5,000 deaths, by lowering radon levels in homes exceeding the EPA?s action level. This number could likely be reduced even further if radon testing was required of all residential homes. Radon mitigation and abatement services cannot be performed if no one is aware of the existence of the radon.
The devaluing of your personal property
Although many states currently require an inspection before purchasing a house, many do not require the service of radon testing. As many are not aware of radon possibilities and consequences, radon testing may never be completed on a house. However, if you later come across the existence of radon and do not receive radon mitigation and abatement services, you are required to inform all potential home buyers. This will drastically reduce the value of your property and you may be required to have full radon abatement before listing your property.
Protect you, your family, and your investment when purchasing a home by requesting a radon test from a local radon mitigation company. You may be able to get the seller to pay for the test. However, if they refuse, it is still a good idea to go ahead with the testing services. Otherwise, you could be purchasing a poor investment and putting you and your family at risk.
Radon mitigation and abatement services
If you find that you have high traces of radon on your property, you will want it to be removed as quickly as possible. Contact a local radon mitigation and abatement company. Fortunately, the methods used in abatement today show good results of successfully removing the radon gases. Passive systems of mitigation have been shown to be capable of reducing indoor radon levels by more than 50%. When radon ventilation fans are added, radon levels can even be reduced further. A level of 0 is not needed, as radon gases are only dangerous in large amounts. However, you will want as much of it removed, as possible.
Radon is an extremely dangerous gas that resides underneath much residential property land. High contents of radon gases can lead to breathing difficulties, developmental disabilities, and even lung cancer. Regardless of where you live, if you have never had a radon test completed, it is a smart decision to have one. Residential radon testing will look for specific radon levels and if high enough, can prepare you for radon mitigation and abatement services. Remove high traces of the radon to protect your family and to protect your financial investment.