The Real Estate Browser Volume 9, Issue 5 | Page 6

6 — Say you saw it in The Real Estate Browser of Lynchburg — Volume 9 Number 4 www . LynchburgRealEstateBrowser . com

Radon Gas

By Drew Howard , President , HomePro , Inc .
Radon is a colorless , odorless , and tasteless radioactive gas . It is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers , killing about 58 people per day in the United States . The only way to discover how much radon is present in a home is through testing . Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air . The national indoor average is 1.3 pci / l . The EPA recommends in real estate transactions homes 4.0 pci / l or greater be corrected .
Radon is found everywhere as part of the air we breathe . It concentrates when it becomes trapped indoors . According to the EPA , radon can be found in all 50 states and 1 in 15 US homes has elevated levels . The EPA has a radon map of each state . There are 3 zones on the map . Zone 1 has the highest level of radon gas , and zone 3 has the lowest . Most all counties in the state of Virginia are in zone 1 or zone 2 . Zone 1 areas have 1 out of 4 likelihood that the home level will be above 4.0 pci / l . In zone 2 it is about 1 out of 8 homes will be above 4.0 pci / l .
Factors affecting the way radon fills a space :
• Lay of the land the dwelling is sited on .
• Construction details : what is under the foundation ? Is a radon mitigation system installed but not in use ? Are there opentop cinder block outside walls , and if so , how are they sealed .
• What is the HVAC configuration ? Are thermostats manual or programmable ? Are there multiple units for different parts of the home ? Are there returns in the basement ?
• Air- tightness of the home
Newer homes tend to be much more air tight , which is great for energy efficiency , but can keep radon trapped with less outside air coming in and fewer places for it to leak out . With a half-life of 3.8 days , the radon trapped in a home will eventually decay , but with a continuous inflow of new radon gas , the sustained concentration can accumulate .
Weather and seasonal variations also play a major role . Several days of soaking rain can cause radon levels to spike simply by pushing down the radon gas in the ground surrounding the house , leaving the footprint of the house as the only dry ground for it to escape up through .
The latest standard from AARST recommends additional testing for homes larger than 2,000 square feet , homes with multiple heating and cooling systems , and homes with multiple foundation types .
If you have radon questions or concerns please give me a call . ( 434 ) 660-3449
Thanks , Drew Howard