Radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive gas that naturally occurs in the ground beneath us from the decay process of granite and uranium found in all soils. It typically moves up through the ground and into your home or business through cracks or holes in the foundation. The gas is drawn into buildings through negative pressure causing dangerous levels to enter. The amount of radon in the air is measured in picocuries (pCi/L). 1 in 3 Utah Homes have dangerous levels of radon. If detected, homes with high levels can be fixed.
Radon gas attaches itself to our lungs where it can begin the process of developing lung cancer. It’s the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, and the second leading cause of cancer after smokers. Radon kills more people than drunk driving, approximately 21,000 people a year.
Mitigation
A mitigation system usually involves creating a vacuum beneath the basement slab greater than the vacuum pressure of the home. Thus reversing the air pressure differences and moving ground soil gases into the radon system rather than into the home. Typically, a pit is created in the basement slab, aggregate (some dirt, rocks, etc.) is removed to create a void. Then a PVC pipe is installed through the basement slab and ran either up through the attic and roof or to the exterior of the home.
A fan is sized to accommodate the soil compaction and square footage of the house footprint to effectively move air from under the basement floor. The fan moves air from one side of basement to the other, pushing air (and radon) outside – not allowing radon to enter the home.
Then, internal piping from the slab routed up through the home and through the attic or an aesthetically matching pipe is then used to vent the radon gas on the exterior of the home and safely discharges above the roofs eave where it naturally dissipates into the atmosphere.
Test for Radon
Test your home – It’s easy and inexpensive. Surgeon General Warning: Radon causes lung cancer, you should test your home. EPA’s action level is 4 pCi/L, any level above 4 pCi/L SHOULD be mitigated. The American Lung Cancer Association and the EPA strongly recommend considering a mitigation system if levels are between 2-4 pCi/L.
Order a Test Kit and see if your home needs mitigation.
