RADON TESTING

You can’t see radon. And you can’t smell it or taste it. But it may be a problem in your home. Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. That’s because when you breathe air containing radon, you can get lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.

Radon is a radioactive gas. It comes from the natural decay of uranium that is found in nearly all soils. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation.

Your home traps radon inside, where it can build up. Any home may have a radon problem. This means new and old homes, well sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements.
Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems. Sometimes radon enters the home through well water. In a small number of homes, the building materials (such as granite countertops) can give off radon, too. However, building materials rarely cause radon problems by themselves.

Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels. While radon problems may be more common in some areas, any home may have a problem. The only way to know about your home is to test.

Testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon. EPA and the Surgeon General recommend testing all homes below the third floor for radon.
Testing should be completed by a certified radon testing company. HomePro Inspections is certified through the NYS Department of Health’s Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP). Accredited Radon Laboratory #11723.

The test must be done under closed-house conditions. Closed-house conditions means the windows and doors must remain closed during the minimum 48-hour test. This includes the 12-hours prior to the start of the test. Normal egress in and out of the house is perfectly fine. We send this information by email to the seller’s Realtor so they can inform the seller prior to the test. We also leave behind a closed-house agreement form for the seller to sign if the house is occupied.

We place a our state-of-the-art professional radon monitor on site (typically in the basement). After the 48-hour test is complete, we return to the property to retrieve the monitor and review the findings. A verbal report by phone is given to our client and then a written report is sent by email.

The units of measure are referred to picocuries per liter (pCi/L). The average indoor radon level is estimated to be about 1.3 pCi/L, and about 0.4 pCi/L of radon is normally found in the outside air.

The U.S. Congress has set a long-term goal that indoor radon levels be no more than outdoor levels. While this goal is not yet technologically achievable in all cases, most homes today can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below. If the test results are above 4 pCi/L, contact a certified radon mitigation contractor to reduce the level.

However, EPA believes that any radon exposure carries some risk—no level of radon is safe. Even radon levels below 4 pCi/L pose some risk, and you can reduce your risk of lung cancer by lowering your radon level. If your living patterns change and you begin occupying a lower level of your home (such as a basement) you should retest your home on that level. Even if your test result is below 4 pCi/L, you may want to test again sometime in the future.

Our Services:

Buyer Inspection
Pre-Listing Inspection
Builder Warranty Inspection
Commercial Inspection
Radon Testing
Mold Assessments
Chimney Inspection
Pest Inspection

Want to know what’s inspected during our inspection process? CLICK HERE

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