The natural gas radon emits radioactive particles capable of causing lung cancer. Radon also has no color, odor or taste, which makes it impossible to detect by sensory perception alone. The only way to identify indoor radon levels is to test for the gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. Individuals can hire testing professionals or use kits available at hardware stores, government agencies or private programs.
Importance
Radon can enter any residence and become trapped and accumulate inside. The gas usually originates in soil and rocks outside homes and then enters at ground level through openings, such as cracks in floors. It can also enter via the water supply. In rare cases, building materials, including granite tiles, emit radon. Once inside, radon mixes with air and rises upward. Approximately 7 percent of homes in the United States have a high level of radon, reports the EPA. Radon levels can also build up inside other enclosed structures, such as businesses and schools.
Measurements
Radon measurements indicate pCi/L, or the picocuries of radon present in one liter of air. Although there is no established safe amount of radon exposure, the EPA suggests reducing indoor radon levels when they are 4 pCi/L or greater.
Tests
Home radon tests are either short-term or long-term. Depending on the method, short-term tests can require two to 90 days, and they are most appropriate for measuring radon levels quickly. The most common types of short-term radon tests are alpha track, charcoal canisters, charcoal liquid scintillation, continuous monitors and electret ion chamber. Long-term home radon tests take longer than 90 days. They are often most accurate and are the best method for determining average radon levels over extended periods, such as a year. The most common long-term tests use alpha track or electret devices to measure radon levels.
Short-Term Test Procedures
Radon home tests typically require only several minutes to set up. Users generally place the testing device about 2 feet above the floor in an undisturbed location that is not too drafty, hot or humid. The room should have normal traffic but should not be a bathroom or kitchen. All windows and doors in the home that lead outside should remain closed during the test period or as much as possible. When the period ends, users seal the testing device in appropriate packaging and mail it to the laboratory indicated in the test instructions, which usually takes several weeks to return test results.
Long-Term Test Procedures
Long-term radon home tests follow the same procedures as short-term tests, but they can involve two phases when users follow EPA recommendations. The first phase requires conducting a short-term test, followed by an additional short-term test or a long-term test after the results for the initial test arrive. A short-term follow-up test is most appropriate for the second phase when the initial test results indicate very elevated radon levels that are twice as high or more than 4 pCi/L. The EPA recommends reducing radon levels indoors when the results of the two testing phases average 4 or more pCi/L.
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