# Radon levels



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Anyone have any knowledge and/or experience with higher than normal radon levels in a home? 

I went on-line and did some research. It depends on who you speak to in regards to just how serious of an issue it might be. I ask this because of my father's house that is up for sale in Spokane, WA. Radon is quite typical and high in that state, at least on the eastern side. 

Average reading in Spokane is over 9. The readings in my father's house were just above 5. That was high enough to scare away a potential buyer. The real estate agent I have selling the home, say's radon is overly empathized as being serious. He says that we need to make the issue known to future potential buyers, now that it has become an issue. I don't have an problem with that. He also says that it won't be a concern to most buyers. 

I turn 62 in late October. I can't ever recall having a discussion of any kind in regards to radon, or having someone speak to me about the radon abatement system they have in their home. Most of these systems run about $1500.00 or so to install. Obviously, I've heard about radon and I've educated myself to some degree on it. 

I seriously doubt that any of his neighbors have a radon system in their homes. I wonder if any new homes are being built with radon abatement systems already installed? 

Anyways, if any of you could shed some light on the subject, it would be most appreciated.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

No one knows anything about radon? :watching:


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

Radon the latest in a money maker.... Radon is naturally in soil..... However the EPA has set a limit for what is acceptable for humans..... Most likely at the urging of the industry.........

In my area if radon is found in an "unsafe" range the buyer usually demands it be mitigated before they will buy..... Cost around $800.00 to mitigate. Most homes will most likely show a "dangerous" level of radon...... Hence its a money maker.......
Radon Mitigation - SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS

My personal thoughts on radon is I don't care. Can it affect some people probably. It is another hit and miss same as getting cancer..... Boils down to body makeup........

Radon was here before houses and we all lived in them for years and years and suddenly is a huge issue.... 

Selling a home now days in this area costs the seller $$$$$ to fix this or that before the sale.....

last year my daughter had to mitigate the radon in her house before the sale and she had the seller of the house she bought mitigate that house........


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Cait43 said:


> Radon the latest in a money maker.... Radon is naturally in soil..... However the EPA has set a limit for what is acceptable for humans..... Most likely at the urging of the industry.........
> 
> In my area if radon is found in an "unsafe" range the buyer usually demands it be mitigated before they will buy..... Cost around $800.00 to mitigate. Most homes will most likely show a "dangerous" level of radon...... Hence its a money maker.......
> Radon Mitigation - SYSTEM DESIGN BASICS
> ...


Thanks for the feedback. I pretty much feel the same way you do.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

Just about the whole state of New Hampshire is granite with a thin layer of soil on top. Granite gives off radon radiation. It is atomic radiation, and it can and will zap you_ if_ it's strong enough. The government's estimate of 'safe level' is conservative as a matter of course. I don't know that going in and interviewing some folks who have lived in the White Mountains all their lives would learn you anything about effects of Radon.


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## AZdave (Oct 23, 2015)

Wikipedia has a good article. There was a map of the states with radon concentrations. Not a problem here in AZ, even with a uranium mine.

If your house has a basement, I would think the concentration would be highest there. Radon is a heavy gas.

I agree with Cait on this issue.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Ok, I changed the furnace filter. 

I also Opened up the windows and exhausted the air with fans,,,, until my new radon test kit ARRIVES.

THANKS PARATROOPER 

:smt033


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

AZdave said:


> Wikipedia has a good article. There was a map of the states with radon concentrations. Not a problem here in AZ, even with a uranium mine.
> 
> If your house has a basement, I would think the concentration would be highest there. Radon is a heavy gas.
> 
> I agree with Cait on this issue.


Yeah, I did look at the map of the US with it's radon levels.

Eastern WA. is quite high. Anyways, it doesn't look as if we're going to address the issue right away. We're going to keep the house on the market and see how new prospects feel about the issue.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

I consider the radon scare and black mold scare to be overblown propaganda from those who have gotten filthy rich from all of the manufactured environmental issues that the EPA has been inventing for decades. Of course, you will get nowhere telling that to a dedicated liberal, or a housewife who won't let her kids eat dirt.


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

I am so glad we don't deal with that here.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Shipwreck said:


> I am so glad we don't deal with that here.


Radon.........or eating dirt? :watching:


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

paratrooper said:


> Radon.........or eating dirt? :watching:


Very good, have to LOL, :smt033 No offense shipwreck! :smt1099


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Either :smt082:smt082


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

I've eaten my share of dirt. It usually occurred when I was riding / racing dirt bikes. :smt033


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

It's those darn radon daughters that you have to be on the look out for. fart

"Unlike the gaseous radon itself, radon daughters are solids and stick to surfaces, such as dust particles in the air. If such contaminated dust is inhaled, these particles can stick to the airways of the lung and increase the risk of developing lung cancer."


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

paratrooper said:


> I've eaten my share of dirt. It usually occurred when I was riding / racing dirt bikes. :smt033


I used to argue with my daughters about their toddlers crawling around outside, wearing nothing but a diaper. New mothers tend to think a sterile world is necessary to the health of a baby, whereas I contend that dirt-eaters build immunities that keep them healthy for their whole lives. It was all academic, because by the time each of them were on their second child, there was no possible way to prevent a baby from eating dirt, short of locking them up in a sterile room. Besides, we were their primary baby-sitters, and they knew that we were going to let them do what children do, anyway.

Fast-forward 15 years, and now I hear them making my arguments to other people, whose kids always have the sniffles or strep throat, etc.


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## RK3369 (Aug 12, 2013)

Bisley said:


> I used to argue with my daughters about their toddlers crawling around outside, wearing nothing but a diaper. New mothers tend to think a sterile world is necessary to the health of a baby, whereas I contend that dirt-eaters build immunities that keep them healthy for their whole lives. It was all academic, because by the time each of them were on their second child, there was no possible way to prevent a baby from eating dirt, short of locking them up in a sterile room. Besides, we were their primary baby-sitters, and they knew that we were going to let them do what children do, anyway.
> 
> Fast-forward 15 years, and now I hear them making my arguments to other people, whose kids always have the sniffles or strep throat, etc.


My brother in law is a dairy farmer. My wife was a farmer's daughter. They are two of the healthiest people I know, in fact, I don't think my brother in law has ever had a cavity and my wife has had very few. BTW, they were both raised on raw milk, nothing store bought. My father in law lived to 93 and was working on the farm running a tractor until the last two weeks of his life. He was hardly ever sick either.

Your point is well made. In our "sterile" environment, once people are exposed to stuff that they should get at an early age, it has a much larger impact on them the older they are. Your body can not develop antibodies to disease and immunity to normal viruses without being exposed to them. If you are not exposed at a young age, expect much more severe problems if you get exposed at an older age.


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## CW (Mar 20, 2015)

Its hard to avoid radon, but years ago when energy efficiency became a major topic, building practices changed resulting in sealed in homes. 

Typically, older homes had better ventilation simply from all the gaps in the building, 
but with modern house wraps and sealed windows, the air inside became trapped and can concentrate.
You should look into a good filtration/ventilation system if your house is rather tight or you have a basement with little air circulation.


And yes, where you live would effect the rate of concentration.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

The 'R' of HRC used to stand for radon, she moved the letters around.
That's why she's so toxic.


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## gothcopter (Jul 3, 2013)

To give you some numbers, a reading of 5pCi/L means if you are a non-smoker you have a little less than a 1% chance of developing lung cancer. You're just as likely to die in a car accident. If you smoke, then it seems additional radon exposure can greatly increase your chances of developing lung cancer.

















_Tables taken from the EPA's A Citizen's Guide to Radon_

In the grand scheme of things, radon isn't that big of a risk. But because it's an entirely preventable cause of illness and death, and once you properly mitigate a house it's fixed for good, they tend to concentrate on it because it's an "easy win" compared to some of the other stuff that kills people.

You're in that unfortunate range where pretty much every government in the world agrees that your air is safe, but the EPA "recommends" that you reduce it because yay, clean air! The money you would spend on fixing the house would reduce your chances of getting lung cancer by a factor of 3, which sounds like a big deal. But you're going from a 0.9% chance to a 0.3% chance, which is only an improvement of 0.6%. So really not much of a difference after all. Most people would be much better served by spending their radon fan money on a stairmaster and getting off their fat ass.

Home buyers aren't going to look at it that way though, especially if they can go down the street and buy a similar house with lower levels. So have fun doing your radon mitigation!


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

RK3369 said:


> If you are not exposed at a young age, expect much more severe problems if you get exposed at an older age.


To take that idea to the extreme, it was quite common, when I was a child, for a mother to take her kids to intentionally be exposed to German measles, red measles, chicken pox, and especially mumps, for that very reason. My mother tried to expose me to the mumps at about 6 yo, because mumps in an adult was a pretty serious thing. Apparently, I already had a natural immunity, because I never caught them, even though my sister had them in one side, then the other, causing her to miss about 3-4 weeks of school.

On the other hand, doctors tended to use penicillin for everything, back then, until they realized that they were building an immunity to it that might prevent it from being effective in a real emergency. Fortunately, I was almost never sick, so I had very few doses, before they started using derivative drugs that were less likely to build immunity against penicillin.


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