Radon is a carcinogen and is said to probably be the leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.  Have you ever tested your home for radon? If so what next?  There is need to vent your home and reduce radon levels.  Are you aware that there are guides on how to do this?  Or that there are professionals who could assist you in case you are unsure of what to do next?

You cannot see or smell radon therefore you need special equipment to detect it.  Radon testing devices that are considered passive include; charcoal canister, charcoal liquid scintillation devices, and alpha-track detectors.  These don’t need power to function.  Continuous radon monitors and continuous working level monitors are active radon testing devices that use power.  They provide you with hourly readings as well as the average result for the period of testing.

Once you have confirmed that your house does indeed have radon and in harmful levels then you need to ventilate to reduce or get rid of the radon.  There are different methods for venting radon gas that you can apply for your specific type of house structure and areas in your home.  Some techniques actually prevent radon entry while other techniques reduce radon levels after entry.  EPA recommends the techniques that prevent radon entry e.g. soil suction.  Your type of house affects the radon reduction technique that works best.

Radon reduction techniques can be categorized by the design of the foundation.  In basement and slab-on-grade foundations; you can reduce radon by soil suction through the sub slab, drain tile, sump hole or block wall suction.

In crawlspace houses, you could cover the dirt floor with a plastic sheet of high density. Then use a fan and vent pipe to draw radon from under that sheet and then vent it out.  This method also known as sub-membrane suction is the best method for crawlspace houses.  Yet another method is depressurization whereby you draw air directly out of the crawlspace using a good fan.  You could also ventilate a crawlspace house passively by opening vents and or installing more vents. There are other radon reducing techniques that you could use including; heat recovery ventilation and natural ventilation.

Heat recovery ventilator, will increase ventilation and help to reduce the levels of radon in your home.  It introduces outdoor air and uses the heated or cooled air exhausted to cool or to warm incoming air.  This ventilator can be used to ventilate part or all of your home.  It is however most effective when used to ventilate basements only.  When there are other indoor pollutants, heat recovery ventilator can be used to improve air quality in the house.

Natural ventilation normally occurs in every house.  When you open vents, doors, and windows on the lower floors of your home; ventilation in the house is increased.  This increased ventilation mixes the indoor and outdoor air full of radon thus resulting in radon reduction.  You should note however, that once you close up the openings; radon concentrations almost always return to their previous levels within 12 hours.  This, therefore, should only be regarded as a radon reduction approach that is temporary.

There are other radon reducing techniques that you could use in any type of housing.  They include: sealing and house/room pressurization.  Much as there are a number of radon venting options; you are advised to use the best venting method for your design of house that will get rid of radon in your home.

The radon system is installed in a home or building after a positive radon test has been recorded. Any levels of radon over the approved 0.4 picocuries per liter is considered harmful to human health. If a home or building measures higher, a kit will be installed to clean the air and return it to the building with a lower level of radon.

Radon systems come in two forms, the passive radon system, and the active radon system. The active radon system is most often used after the passive system has been unable to reduce the levels of the gas in the building. Some radon systems can be installed in the home or building during construction to reduce the cost of radon removal.

Passive radon systems use the natural radon collection process to remove the gas from the home. Most often, radon enters the home through cracks in the foundation. These cracks allow the harmful gas to seep into the basement or crawl space and collect. These gases then permeate to the upper levels of the home. The passive system employs a metal pipe that runs from the collection point through the roof. The gas naturally moves through the pipe and out into the air.

The active radon system uses a fan to improve the movement of the gas. The fan creates negative pressure in the collection space, which gives the radon gas only one place to escape, through the pipe. The active system is more effective than the passive system and may be used as a first choice in homes and buildings with very high levels of radon.

If a home is currently under construction in an area where radon gas has been detected, many construction companies will installed the pipe from the lower level of the home through the roof to eliminate the chance of radon gas collection. This will reduce the cost of installation dramatically.

In older homes, the pipe may need to be installed with the cost of installation varying based upon the type of home construction and the time spent installing the pipe. Whenever possible, the home should regularly test for radon because the gas naturally fluctuates during different times of year and with environmental changes.

While radon systems can remove nearly all of the radon in the air, a radon detector should remain in the space at all times. Most often, the long-term radon detector will be used due to the presence of radon already being established. The long term detectors can be used for more than 90 days at a time and often use a readout screen to report the current radon levels in the air. A radon detector should be installed on all levels of the home or building.

A radon mitigation system is used to remove radon gas from an enclosed building. These systems can use either a passive or active approach to moving the radon gas out of the space and back into the open air.

Radon gas is a natural gas that is produced when uranium decays. The gas can be found in soil, rock, and water. When a home or building is placed on a foundation, the foundation is in direct contact with the source of radon gas. Over time and with environmental changes, the radon gas could collect in the lower level of the building and move upward through open spaces into the area of the home or building used most often.

Radon is always present in the air, but levels higher than 0.4 picocuries per liter of air are considered carcinogenic. This means the gas, when breathed regularly at higher levels, can cause cancer as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Once a radon test has established the presence of radon gas in a home or building, the radon mitigation system will need to be installed to remove that gas. Depending on the levels of radon or the previous attempts at radon removal, a passive or active radon mitigation system could be chosen.

The passive radon mitigation system uses a pipe running from the lowest level of the building through the walls and out through the roof. This pipe collects the radon gas and allows it to naturally move into open air at the top of the building. Passive systems are often used as a first line of radon gas treatment or when levels of radon gas are relatively low. Some new constructions install passive radon mitigation systems even if the building is not in an area where radon gas is a problem.

The active radon mitigation system is more effective than the passive system. A fan is placed in the lowest level of the building. This fan causes a vacuum effect in the space that forces all of the air to move through the installed pipe. The radon is often completely removed with an active mitigation system.

Many radon mitigation systems will work hand in hand with sealing or soil treatment on the home or business. The sealing does not work alone to obstruct the radon gas from entering the building, but can block some of the gas from entering the space. The sealing simply refers to patching any cracks in the foundation or basement of the building where radon gas could be seeping in.

The soil around the building may also be holding on to radon gas. Mitigation systems often include soil treatment, which draws the radon out of the soil. The soil system is used as part of a complete radon treatment plan that includes the sealing and pipe installation.