You might be wondering if it’s possible to eliminate radon from the air you breathe in your home. After all, it’s a health hazard and there are a variety of companies offering to eliminate it from the air you breathe. They’ll install sub-slab depressurization systems with fans that create negative pressure and exhaust the radon above your home, rendering your home radon-free. Right??? Not exactly…
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive element and is a biproduct of other decaying elements like radium, thorium and uranium. As these heavier elements break down, radon molecules are emitted. Granite is known to contain all of these, and can be a major contributor to radon levels. So…what does that mean? It means that radon is everywhere…it’s in the air you breathe outside your home. In low concentrations like you’ll find outside of your home (usually between .2-.8 pCi/L), it is not considered a health hazard. When those levels are higher – above the 4.0 pCi/L action-level proposed by the EPA – radon becomes a more serious health concern.
Logically, we can deduce that if radon is already present in the outside “fresh” air you let in when you open a door or window, it cannot be completely eliminated from your home. Certainly, levels can be reduced to a safer level…and testing might even show 0 pCi/L for a short window of time. However, this is not a sustainable or realistic expectation when installing a radon mitigation system in your home. Simply put, if the air outside your home contains radon, so will the air inside your home.
Does this mean that radon ‘elimination’ systems are a scam? No, not at all. But a claim that a company can completely eliminate radon from your home should be very closely scrutinized. While the difference between ‘reduction’ and ‘elimination’ may seem small, the implication of using the words “radon elimination” can be nearly nearly impossible to back up.
By definition, Radon Mitigation is any process used to reduce radon gas concentrations in the breathing zones of occupied buildings. Ohio licenses Radon Mitigation Specialists, and Radon Mitigation Contractors…not Radon Eliminators.
Please call Akron Radon Reduction Systems at 330-915-4999 for more information.
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