A Nevada School Board was recently reminded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, in the strongest possible terms, that only an active soil depressurization (ASD) radon system will reduce high radon levels. In response to a letter from the School Board President, EPA's Radon Team Leader Phil Jalbert and Health Physicist Gene Fisher said:
"The EPA does not recommend (air) filtration as a radon control measure," stated EPA Radon Team Leader Phil Jalbert and Health Physicist Gene Fisher. "EPA's principal recommendation for mitigating radon levels in school buildings is to control the source and minimize or prevent radon entry. The technique used most often and successfully is sub-slab or sub-membrane active soil depressurization."
The School Board President wrote to EPA after a local contractor had installed air filters to reduce the radon levels in an elementary school. The filters did not mitigate the radon. This method was used despite the concerns of parents who had researched radon and found that filtration is not the method recommended by EPA for mitigating radon. Read a more detailed account of this story here.
For years, EPA has been clear regarding radon mitigation in homes, schools and all buildings. The proven, most effective method for achieving radon reduction consists of a radon fan connected to suction pipe(s) to draw the radon gas from below the house or school and release it into the outdoor air while simultaneously creating a negative pressure (vacuum) beneath the slab. See EPA's online booklet, "Consumer's Guide to Radon Reduction".
To find some solutions for radon mitigation in your own home or office building, please have a look at HomeAire's selection of radon test kits, radon mitigation fans, and other radon informational resources.
Pat Everett
Spruce Environmental Technologies and HomeAire
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: May 2, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Tags: active soil depressurization, radon, radon fan, radon mitigation, radon mitigation fan, radon reduction, radon test kit
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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Placing a radon test kit in your home is a simple and effective way to ensure you and your family's safety, and you can do so for under $20. HomeAire's store features a variety of AccuStar brand radon testing kits to best suit your needs. We've included a bit of information below to help you choose which kit is right for you, and to help you better understand why it's important to have one in your home.
What is in a Radon Test Kit?
Since radon is colorless, odorless and tasteless, there are no symptoms that you will be able to watch for until it is too late. While some areas are more actively promoting radon testing than others, it's in everyone's best interest to make sure that their home is safe to breathe and live in, and that starts with a radon test kit. When ordering a radon test kit, there are a few different types. You may receive a Radon in Water test kit which involves taking a water sample in a vial. You might also order a short or long-term test device that measure radon levels in your air. Short term kits take only a couple of days, and long term kits can stay put for up to a few months. All kits come with instructions that will help you accurately analyze the level of radon in your home. HomeAire has a selection of AccuStar radon test kits available for you for less than $20, including lab analysis - a small price to pay for ensuring your air quality safety!
How do I use a Radon Test Kit?
You're welcome to purchase and implement your own radon test kit, or you may wish to have a certified radon professional do it for you. Kits come with detailed instructions and are easy to use if you follow them carefully. You may have read our previous blog entry, Radon Testing in Your Home, which goes into further details about how radon concentration is measured what different amounts mean for your family's health.
Always be sure to install your radon test kit in a frequently used room of your house that is as close to the foundation as possible. This could be your basement (if you use it frequently. It doesn't matter if it's finished or unfinished), or it could be a home office or living room on the first floor. Since radon gas originates in the soil beneath your home, placing the test kit closest to the source will yield the most accurate results. Be sure to avoid high-moisture areas like bathrooms, kitchens or laundry rooms, and closets or hallways. Generally, you will affix the kit to your wall and leave it there. It's that simple! If you have a radon in water test kit, you will collect a small sample of water and follow the instructions for lab results included with the kit.
Still have questions?
We're happy to help you! You can get in touch with a radon professional quickly and easily by either calling us from 8:30-5:30 EST at 888.848.7250, or 24/7 by leaving a comment on this blog or clicking the "Contact Us" link at the top of this page.
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: February 20, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Tags: accustar, accustar radon test kit, radon, radon in home, radon in water, radon test kit, radon testing, testing you rhome for radon, types of radon test kits
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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Throughout the month of January, we contributed to radon awareness by posting several topics on radon as a part of the EPA's National Radon Action Month. We helped inform you about the various ways that radon can impact your life - from radon symptoms to how you can test your home for radon and spread the word throughout your community. We realized that with all of this great information at your disposal, you might still be having some questions about what a radon mitigation system is, or how a radon fan actually works. To help, we're providing some further information here to keep you informed and proactive about radon prevention and treatment.
What is a Radon Mitigation Fan?
A radon mitigation fan is part of the solution to ridding your home of radon fumes. Since radon is a gas that originates in the soil below a home's foundation, the fan is the part of the apparatus that is able to direct the gas up tubing through your home's frame, and expel it out of and above your home, where it dissipates harmlessly into the outside air.The fan is placed within the tubing system and runs constantly and quietly via an electrical connection that won't distract you or run up a high electricity bill. Since radon is lighter than air, expelling it above the areas of your house that you will be breathing will ensure safety for you and your family.
How does a Radon Mitigation System work?
There are two types of mitigation system installations - outdoor (below left) and indoor (below right). Though the systems are routed differently, their setup is very similar. When you install a radon mitigation system in your house, it creates a negative pressure field below your home to prevent radon gas from entering. A small pit is created beneath the foundation of your home in one to several areas. Tubing (PVC pipe) is connected to the hole(s) drilled to create the pits, and is routed unobtrusively to the suction side of an electrically-connected, weatherproof radon mitigation fan. More piping is connected to the opposite side of the fan, the pressure side, and the gas is routed above the house and expelled safely above the roof.
Still have questions about Radon?
If you're finding yourself curious about radon and the available solutions for radon remediation, head over to the RadonAway website to find out more. There are topics like radon in the home, radon health risks and symptoms, where to find radon contractors, and how to test for and fix a radon problem. We also encourage you to contact us at HomeAire with any questions, and we'll be happy to help you!
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: February 19, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Tags: installing a radon fan, radon, radon action month, radon elimination, radon fan, radon mitigation, radon mitigation fan, radon mitigation system, radon remediation, radon remediation system, radon symptoms, RadonAway
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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Welcome to another post in our series on radon awareness and radon remediation as part of the EPA's National Radon Action Month! If you haven't already, please have a look at our other posts in this series: Radon Testing In Your Home, Radon Symptoms to Watch For, and our introductory National Radon Action Month post.
This post is here to help you to spread the word about the importance of radon testing and radon remediation in not only your household, but your community. The more people that are made aware of this important issue, the safer and healthier our home air and families can be.
Feel free to use this banner on your website or blog. (just right-click and select "save image as...") There are a variety to choose from on the Radon Action Month website as well if you scroll toward the bottom of that website.
The EPA Radon Action Month website gives you five great ideas to start with for raising radon awareness and safety in your community:
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Set a goal for your community
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Plan an event or activity in your community for radon awareness
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Promote it on the National Radon Action Month website
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Collaborate with your local radon partners and other resources
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Work with the media to spread the word
To get some of these tips in motion, the site has provided a great Event Planning Kit to help you on your way to planning a radon awareness and prevention event. That webpage also has numerous resources to help you along, like a radon fact sheet, tips for media outreach and web communication, and more. You can also download and customize Radon Action Month PSAs or have your activity featured on the National Radon Action Month website.
Upon seeing these great tips, we at HomeAire decided we'd try to come up with a few of our own:
Continue reading "Radon Remediation in Your Community" »
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: January 24, 2008 at 9:30 AM
Tags: epa, epa radon, national radon action month, radon community resources, radon remediation, radon resources, radon symptoms, radon testing, testing your home for radon
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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Testing your home for radon is simple, inexpensive, and can save your life. Home radon test kits are available for purchase, or, if you feel more comfortable hiring a professional to help you, you can contact your state radon office. Hopefully you've been following us on our journey through Radon Action Month so far here at the HomeAire blog. If not, be sure to read our previous entries on an overview of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to spread radon risk awareness and the important symptoms to watch for in your home.
For less than a family dinner, you can purchase a radon test kit for your home. How does it work? Read on to find out.
Continue reading "Radon Testing In Your Home" »
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: January 17, 2008 at 1:45 PM
Tags: dangerous radon level, home air, home aire, home radon levels, homeaire, homeaire blog, how to test for radon, indoor air quality, radon, radon action month, radon fan, radon in home, radon test kit, radon testing kit
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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This entry in our January is Radon Action Month series discusses the symptoms of radon poisoning and how to know whether to suspect a radon leak in your home. This was a bit of a trick headline because, in actuality, radon has no early warning signs. Unlike other chemical leaks in the home, radon doesn't offer its sufferers any noticeable symptoms that would help alert them to get a testing kit or see a doctor. It is completely odorless, colorless, and flavorless. This makes it particularly dangerous and important to test your home for radon to ensure that you and your family are not at risk. This entry will help you find ways to get help for your home and your health.
Continue reading "Radon Symptoms to Watch For" »
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: January 10, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Tags: accustar, accustar radon test kit, home aire blog, homeaire blog, indoor air quality, indoor air quality blog, lung cancer symptoms, radon action month, radon awareness, radon blog, radon detector, radon lung cancer, radon poisoning, radon poisoning symptoms, radon prevention, radon symptoms, radon test kit, radon testing, radon testing kit, testing your home for radon
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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2008 is now upon us and it couldn't be a better time to take the necessary steps to make your home a healthier place. Many people are setting resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, be kinder to the environment or give more to charity. With great goals like these, chances are, your resolution list doesn't contain the item "check home for radon", but it should! January is National Radon Action Month, and we're excited to be able to share some information with you to help make your home air safer to breathe, and to put your mind at ease in the coming year. Throughout the month, we'll be publishing posts to this blog surrounding different radon topics to help spread the word about the importance of radon testing in your home.
Radon testing is a topic that doesn't get as much widespread coverage as it should. By now, most everyone has heard about the dangers of carbon monoxide, and many buildings are required to have at least one carbon monoxide detector to warn of hazardous conditions and prevent illness and death. However, it's much less common to hear about radon testing kits, and many people aren't even aware of what radon is, how it affects our health, and what we can do about it. In actuality, radon is quite common and should be monitored just as carbon monoxide is. Thankfully, with the establishment of Radon Action Month, more and more people are being empowered with the information needed to take control of their home air safety and, ultimately, their health.
The Bad News: Radon is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas which easily goes undetected until it's too late. This 'silent killer' claims approximately 20,000 lives each year in the United States alone, and is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency Radon site. If more people were made aware of the simple ways they can assess whether there's radon existing in their home, and the ways to eliminate it completely, this number could drop drastically.
The good news: radon is a completely preventable health risk. Testing is simple and inexpensive. Treatment is readily available and can eliminate radon problems in your home indefinitely!
In the coming weeks, you will be armed with a wealth of radon information, from testing kits to symptoms, community programs to treatment and prevention. All we ask is that you put your health first, and spread the word about proper radon care to your neighbors and friends. The more people that can be made aware of the dangers of radon, the more we can help prevent further lives from being taken by this hazardous, invisible toxin.
Until our next entry, feel free to check out the EPA's radon website to learn more about radon and how you can help.
Posted by HomeAire Blogging Team
Posted Date: January 4, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Tags: carbon monoxide, carbon monoxide detector, clearing the air, home air, home aire, home aire blog, home radon, homeaire, homeaire blog, indoor air quality, january is radon action month, new year's resolution, preventing radon, radon action month, radon awareness, radon dangers, radon gas, radon hazard, radon health effetcs, radon in the home, radon prevention, radon symptoms, radon testing, radon testing kit, radon treatment
Filled under: Radon Testing and Awareness
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