Radon, a colorless, odorless gas that is naturally radioactive, raises the risk for lung cancer at elevated concentrations. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly 1 in 15 homes in the United States has excessive amounts of radon. You can find inexpensive kits to test your home for radon, and professional services can verify test results. Tests come in short- and long-term varieties and will help you determine whether radon poses a hazard in your home.
Kit
The contents of radon test kits vary. Some include a set of small sample bottles, instructions and a return envelope. More sophisticated kits use charcoal canisters, alpha track detectors or an electret ion chamber. Whichever type you use, the detectors go to an undisturbed area in the lowest lived-in part of your house. The amount of radioactivity they pick up is small, so you don’t need to worry about handling them.
Short-Term Testing
Depending on the kind of detector, the test may take from two to 90 days. You’ll need to close any windows beforehand and close the door after you leave. During the test, household air flows into the open detectors. Gaseous radon in the air becomes particles of polonium after a few days. Material in the containers traps the polonium. More sophisticated containers record traces made by radioactive particles.
Processing
After the prescribed number of days, you’ll return the containers to a lab for evaluation. The lab may charge a processing fee separate from what you paid for the kit. Some labs have a lower-cost regular service and a priority service for home inspectors checking a home for sale. The lab opens your containers and tests them with sensitive radiation detectors. The small amounts of radioactivity emitted from household radon samples need specialized equipment for accurate measurement.
Long-Term Testing
If your test results come back showing your house has radon levels of 4 pCi/L-- picoCuries per liter--or higher, the EPA recommends getting a long-term test for confirmation. Like the short-term test, these are available online and at hardware stores. A long-term test will take up to a year, taking into account seasonal variations in radon amounts, and will give you the most accurate picture of your home’s radon levels.
Average Levels
According to the University of Michigan Health System, indoor radon levels average 1.25 to 1.3 pCi/L, and outdoor levels run about .4 pCi/L. The university strongly recommends reducing radon levels of 4 pCi/L or more and advises homeowners to also reduce levels between 2 and 4 pCi/L, as the EPA states that there is no safe level of radon. Radon remediation procedures depend on the house and usually involve installing additional ventilation in affected areas.
