Radon Mitigation Services Can Help You Create a Safer Environment for Your Loved Ones

If you are selling our home you might be faced with a situation where the new buyers have asked for a radon inspection. Although you may not have thought to ask this of your new house, you are now wondering if you should have. Finding out if you live in a part of the country where radon is a problem is one way to decide if you should have your home tested. And even if you are not in the middle of buying or selling, paying for a radon test may be in your family’s best interest. Radon is a dangerous gas that if left untreated can lead to serious health implications for everyone in your family. For this reason, residential radon testing services and sump pump installations may be a good idea for you.

It can seem a little confusing to find out that in some areas of the country radon gas testing is required before a home is bought or sold. Likewise, it can seem equally confusing that some kinds of loans require radon gas testing before they are approved. The fact that radon is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas means that it can actually be present in a home and the residents have no idea that they are being exposed. When you realize that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Surgeon General’s Office have estimated that as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths are caused by radon each year, however, you may decide that even if you are not buying or selling your home or applying for a certain kind of loan, radon gas testing may be in your best interest.
Consider some of these other facts about radon testing and the radon mitigation services that a growing number of companies offer:

• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. today, according to warnings from the the Surgeon General.
• Short-term radon gas testing detectors measure radon levels for two days to 90 days, depending on the device.
• Long-term radon gas tests determine the average concentration for more than 90 days.
• By lowering radon levels in homes exceeding the EPA’s action level, scientists estimate that lung cancer deaths could be reduced by 2% to 4%, representing as many as 5,000 deaths.
• When compared to standing next to the fence of a radioactive waste site, a family whose home has radon levels of 4 pCi/l is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow.
• The risk of lung cancer increases by 16% per 100 Bq/m increase in long time average radon concentration.

Whether you are buying or selling a home or not, it is in your best interest to make sure that you and your loved ones are not living in an environment with dangerous levels of radon.