It's an unwelcome guest in your home, radon. It sneaks inside through cracks and crevices in basement walls. And, according to Dr. Michael Harbut who specializes in Environmental Medicine, once it gets inside your home it can make you sick or even kill you, 'Thousands of people die a year from lung cancer needlessly because of their radon exposure.'
Radon gas is formed when uranium in soil, rock or water breaks down. You can't smell it or see it. If you take a look at the radon map in Maryland you can see the areas of concern. The red area is considered 'Zone one'. In it: Harford, Baltimore, Carroll and Howard Counties to name just a few. Those are all areas predicted to have an indoor radon level higher than 4. The orange areas on the map are called 'Zone 2' and are predicted to have an average radon level between two and four.
It used to be that 4 or higher was a danger level of radon, but in September the World Health Organization released a new limit for radon exposure. The organization recommends that homeowners take action at 2.7 pico-curies, not four. That means even the counties in Maryland that are in the orange area, should get a radon test.
Most homeowners do not know they have high levels of radon until they put their home up for sale. Typically a home inspection will detect a high radon level, but you don't have to sell your house to figure out if it's safe. Detection kits are available at health departments and hardware stores. They cost as little as $10 in some places.
The test kits are easy to use. All you have to do is place the tester on the lowest lived in area of your home, the basement, and after a few days or weeks, depending on the kit, send it away for analysis.
If the results come back high, hire and expert, 'We're looking for openings on the side of the house'. Kurt Hudgins installs systems to rid homes of radon. He says the average installation takes two to three hours and costs about $800. He explains how it works, 'We dug out about a 5 gallon pail of soil below the floor to create a vacuum and it's all cemented together.'
That vacuum sucks out the radon filled air from under the house and sends it up a pipe and through the wall outside the house. A fan is used to blow the radon above roof level, 'So we're depressurizing the soil below the basement floor to capture gas before it can enter the home.'
Click on the links with this article to see more on Radon in Maryland. Plus we've added links to three local companies recommended by our partners at the BBB, who can help with Radon detection.
