Just across the river from St. Louis, in the small Illinois township of Swansea, Air Force veteran Mark Perry operates ARC-1 Radon Testing along with a home inspection business.
Mark began the home inspection business in 2006 following more than 22 years of active duty service in the Air Force. Radon testing was added to the business in 2008 following the enactment of the Illinois Radon Awareness Act. Mark explained that prior to the radon awareness act, very few people involved in a real estate transaction spoke about radon. Home buyers had never heard of it and did not want to spend the extra money for something they did not understand. Realtors did not indorse, discuss, or understand the benefits of including a radon measurement along with the other routine inspections. It was viewed as an obstacle to be avoided and therefore not discussed. In fact, when Mark moved to Swansea, from Japan in 2001, the home he bought had a radon mitigation system. The realtor had no idea what it was and the seller said “it just helps keep the crawlspace clean”. It turned out the mitigation system had been installed as part of the seller’s original relocation package and the seller never really understood what it was all about.
Mark explained that things sure have changed these past 10 years, since the Radon Awareness act was enacted. Radon testing has become a routine practice when buying a home. Between 2013 and 2017 57% of Mark’s home inspection clients have included radon testing. The realtors have come to embrace the idea, now realizing how important it is to the future health of their clients, and they have also gotten over their fear of it being a deal killer.
Slowly the radon side of the inspection business grew until Mark split the company in two and started ARC-1 Radon Testing in 2013.
Now Mark is licensed for radon measurement in 3 states and holds an advanced NRPP certification for radon measurement of multifamily housing. ARC-1 Radon has grown to provide a full range of radon measurement services across the Midwest to include: multifamily housing, schools, college dorms, daycare centers, and other commercial buildings. In 2014 Mark volunteered his support of the Midwest chapter of AARST, a radon professional organization, and became a board member and the organization’s webmaster.
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Indiana Professional Radon Measurement License RTP00724
FHA Insured MultiFamily Housing
Illinois Professional Radon Measurement License RNI2013233
Residential - Schools - Day Care Facilties - Commercial Buildings
Indiana Professional Radon Measurement License RTP00724
FHA Insured MultiFamily Housing
Kansas Professional Radon Measurement License
KS-KS-MS-0306
FHA Insured MultiFamily Housing
National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP)
Certification ID 107219
National Radon Safety Board (NRSB)
Certification ID 15SS004
ARC-1 Radon Testing
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