Radon Mitigation is The Future
Radon Mitigation is the Future
Some home buyers “run” from a home found to have a radon level above the “action level” set by the EPA.
This “action level” is well known among Realtors, and it’s this: The EPA recommends having a radon mitigation system installed on a home if its average radon level comes to 4.0 pCi/L (that reads, “Pico Curies per Liter of air”) or above.
A case could be made that the most hazardous homes measure below the EPA’s action level of 4.0 pCi/L.
Why? Because radon scientists agree that there is no safe level of radon in a home; simply put, when it comes to radon, lower is always better.
Those that test higher than 4.0 pCi/L generally have a mitigation system installed, and if done well, drives the radon levels reliably low. But those homes that test between 2.0 and 4.0 pCi/L generally go unmitigated, so they remain between 2.0 and 4.0 pCi/L, that is unless their levels change over time which can happen. Construction in one’s neighborhood can change the pathways radon takes up and out of the earth changing radon levels in an instant.
The following statement has been forwarded by the U.S. Congress and it reflects this opinion that lower is always better: “The U.S. Congress has set a long-term goal that indoor radon levels be no more than outdoor levels”, and the average outside level is 0.4 pCi/L.
So, if you think about it, the future aim of the U.S. Congress will only be achieved with some sort of mitigation system installed on every home, and once a mitigation system is installed, it will quietly handle any rise in radon levels in your home without any attention on your part; this is the future.
So, here’s the lesson for home buyers: If the home you intend to purchase shows radon levels of 6.0 pCi/L, or even acceptable to the EPA at 3.5 pCi/L, isn’t a home with an effective mitigation system installed better than one without? Mitigation is the future.
So, why not have a mitigation system installed now, and reap the benefits of very low radon levels in the home now. After-all, when it comes to radon, lower is always better.
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Jim Fahs is the Owner of Wasatch Home Inspections since 2013. He has been certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors since 1995 (ID Number: 200612), and by the National Radon Proficiency Program as a Residential Measurement Provider since 2013 (ID Number: 107144 RT).
wasatchhomeinspections.com
801.828.6842/mobile phone…text ok.