Question: What is radon and where does it come from?

Answer: Radon is a radioactive gas found in nature. It has no color, odor or taste and is chemically inert. It's source is uranium. As the uranium molecule decays to form stable lead, a process taking many, many years, it changes from one radioactive element to another in a sequence known as the Uranium Decay Cycle. Partway through this cycle, the element radium becomes radon which as a gas moves up through the soil to atmosphere. Uranium is found in most soils and in granite.
 

Question: Is radon a problem in Colorado?

Answer: Excessive radon levels have been found in all of the 50 states. In Colorado between one-third and one -half of the homes have radon levels in excess of the EPA recommended action level of 4 picoCuries (pCi) of radon per liter of air. See our Colorado Radon Map.
 

Question: How can radon damage my health?

Answer: Thousands of preventable lung cancer deaths annually in the United States are attributable to indoor residential exposure to radon. Either smoking or radon exposure can independently increase the risk of lung cancer. However, exposure to both greatly enhances that risk. (At exposures to 4 pCi of radon per liter of air, the lifetime lung cancer risk attributable to radon rises from 2 cases per thousand in non-smokers to 29 cases per thousand in smokers).
 

Question: How much reliance can I put on these risk factors?

Answer: The risk factors were developed from epidemiological studies of underground miners exposed to radon. Because the studies collected data from human adult males rather than from animal subjects, they have a higher confidence level than is applied to toxicological studies.

The Surgeon General, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, the American Lung Association and the World Health Organization have all identified indoor radon pollution as a national health problem.
 

Question: How does radon get into my home?

Answer: Radon moves from uranium-bearing granite deposits in the soil to atmosphere because there is a lower concentration of radon in the atmosphere than in the soil. Your home is sited in its path and because the house is usually warmer than the surrounding soil, the air pressure is less and soil gases including radon move into the home. The most common routes are:

• spaces between basement walls and slab
• cracks in foundations and/or walls
• openings around sump pumps and drains
• construction joints
• crawl spaces
• showers, etc using well water with high radon concentrations
   

Question: My house is new (old) so it shouldn't have a problem, right?

Answer: The age of a home is not a factor when it comes to whether excessive levels of radon are present in the dwelling.
 

Question: My neighbor tested and did not find a radon problem so my home should be OK, right?

Answer: Unfortunately, that is a false assumption. Usually neither the location of the radon source or its strength (radioactivity) is known. In addition, the air spaces found in different soil types allow movement at different rates and we seldom know what those types are 20 to 30 feet below the surface where they act as channels or dams, predicting a radon level in one home on the basis of a tested level in a home 75 to 200 or so feet away becomes radon guessing. The location of ancient stream beds (channel) and of granite out cropping (the source) also compound prediction reliability.
 

Question: How do I know if my home has a radon problem?

Answer: Test for radon.

• There are many kinds of low cost "do it yourself" radon test kits which may be ordered through the mail or purchased from hardware stores and other retail outlets. Be sure the kit packaging displays the phrase "Meets EPA requirements" or

• Hire a qualified radon tester. Air-Pure Service is certified to test for radon or a list of qualified measurement testers is available at http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rad/radon/radonlists.htm .

Question: What is the difference between long- and short-term tests?

Answer: Our short - term radon test is designed to be exposed from 48 to 96 hours (two to four days). First closed house conditions should be maintained for 12 hours prior to the initiation of the test.  Then the test is activated or opened and left in place for 48 hours or more.  AirChek Charcoal Activated are our device of choice.   Long-term tests take more than 91 days to complete and are conducted with the house in a normal living mode.

Long-term test results give a more representative picture of the true radon levels in the home over time as fluctuations due to changes in ambient temperature and barometric pressure are detected and factored into the final valuation.

Question: Is radon a problem in schools?

Answer: Schools are at risk from radon just as homes are. Colorado statute requires all schools to have tested for radon, and to maintain records of the test results for disclosure on request. The regulation does not require schools that find a problem to mitigate according to a mandated schedule. It is up to the District and its constituents to address mitigation issues. About fifty percent of the schools that were found to have a problem have mitigated.

SAVING LIVES BY REDUCING                                                
                      RaDON LEVELS IN COLORADO
                                                       one home, office, or school at a time...

Call today for a FREE Radon Reduction Quote or Testing Info,
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