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Tim Bateson
12-22-2014, 9:05 AM
A serious topic that could effect a lot of us - RADON Gas. - I work in my home, so a few years ago, I tested for Radon and it was fine. As we are now considering moving, I tested again and discovered dangerous levels of Radon.

It's a naturally occurring orderless (radioactive) gas that comes up from the ground - A problem for most of the U.S., and even more so in other parts of the world. Fact sheet: In the U.S alone "...as many as 20,000 lung cancer deaths are caused each year by radon. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer." :eek:

What I have learned: We all use the blowers for our equipment day in and day out. Problem with that is most modern houses are air tight (or close to it). Because the blower is creating a negative pressure in the house, Radon Gas is being pulled up out of the ground and into the house.

I will be having Radon abatement - a blower installed in my sump pump to extract Radon Gas. This will help, but because my blower on my laser runs so much, I will also need to install an additional fresh air intake.

Dave Sheldrake
12-22-2014, 10:05 AM
The IARC study addressed the 21,000 deaths per year in the US suggested to be a product of Radon 222 and concluded the following (it's in the decay family of both Thorium and Uranium)

http://www.bmj.com/content/330/7485/223?tab=responses

As an Alpha emitter it most certainly IS dangerous partly due to it's 3.8 day half life (the decay chains produce no stable isotopes and the produced isotopes all have very short half lives) however the cumulative effects of Radon 222 are serious but currently the studies are unsure if environmental factors such as smoking played a more significant part than first thought.

The study also concluded the following


The incremental risk to non-smokers from radon is about 0.06% per
100 Bq/m3 up to 800 Bq/m3.

and summed up by


I therefore suggest that it is not appropriate to talk simply of a
risk from radon in homes. The risk is from smoking, compounded by a
synergistic effect of radon for smokers. Without smoking, the effect seems
to be so small as to be insignificant.

What it came down to was, if you are a smoker....avoid Radon.

(I live in a small country that as part of the UK is almost entirely founded on Granite, a well known source of Radon gas)

cheers

Dave

Doug Griffith
12-22-2014, 10:11 AM
Time to get one of those Home Depot test kits for 10 bucks

This is interesting:
http://www.city-data.com/radon-zones/

George Bokros
12-22-2014, 10:33 AM
My radon level was tested twice. First test was 4.0, second was 4.4. I had an abatement system installed and the tests after were 2.0 and two yrs later 2.1, both acceptable levels. The system they installed is pulling from under the basement floor slab. They also sealed the sump crock with a lid. When the install was done they told me they do no do the ones drawing from the sump crock any longer, might just be this installer. They drilled a 4" hole in the floor, removed some of the stone to provide a shallow cavity and then installed a fitting, siliconed around it and ran the pipe to the outside above the eave line.

Wouldn't you know it but my sump pump failed 5 months later and because installed a new pump with a battery backup pump that utilized only one pipe to the drain I had to have a new lid installed. My prior sump pump setup had a battery back up pump but it utilized two pipes out, one for each pump.

Get competitive quotes and check with the Ohio EPA for approved installers.