Radon, What’s that??

Briefly, radon is a radioactive gas that the EPA has determined to be a major cause of lung cancer death in the United States. It enters homes through the soil in the crawlspace or below the basement floor and often reaches dangerous levels. The EPA has set a standard of 4.0 picocuries per liter of air and any level found can be mitigated to below this level by trained professionals.

We do not perform mitigation services, so we do not have financial motivation do deliver high readings. Our only motivation is a desire for your safety.  

Here is a link to the EPA’s  guide to what you should know:

https://www.epa.gov/radon/home-buyers-and-sellers-guide-radon

Here are a couple things from the guide to consider if you don’t have the time or inclination to read a bunch of scientific writing. If scientific writing wasn’t bad enough, this is GOVERNMENT scientific writing

1) The number of annual cancer deaths linked to radon exposure is calculated to be greater than the number of annual deaths caused by drunk drivers.

2) Nearly all Colorado counties are in the “red zone” due to our geology. A few counties are rated as “orange”, but all the areas we serve are in the “red zone”

3) Of course, some types of construction are more likely to have higher levels, but the EPA    recommends every home be tested

The testing is very simple: we sample the air in the lowest living level of the home for 2-5 days with a collection device. We then take the samples to the EPA certified lab owned and operated by the Chair of The Physics Department at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, which then issues next day results.

The advantage of doing the testing at the time of the home inspection is this beyond the peace of mind:

If the level is above 4.0, mitigation typically costs in the range of $1000. Since this is a health and safety concern, you and your realtor would typically ask the sellers to perform the mitigation at their cost making it free to you.

The cost of the test is only $135, making it an inexpensive insurance policy. Obviously, at that price, it’s not really something we make money on, but it does help us achieve our goal of helping you move forward with confidence.