basics Should I Get a Radon Inspection?
My talk to homeowners and prospective homebuyers who ask whether they should get a radon inspection is: yes, just make sure you're not being overcharged (check with local radon inspectors/testers to get a range of the suitable shop prices). In my opinion, you're great off safe than sorry.
Should I Get a Radon Inspection?
What is radon? Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, base noble gas occurring simply as the decay goods of uranium. The gas is simply found in igneous rock and soil, but may occasionally be found in well water as well.
Radon is determined to be a health hazard because of its radioactive properties. More concerning, however, is the fact that it's undetectable by persons absent allowable equipment. Thus, the gas can be gift in your home and you would never know it.
Research has shown that radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings and residential homes, especially in confined spaces such as attics and basements. Once inside the home, the gas may be inhaled or ingested (e.g. Straight through radon-rich water) by the home's inhabitants. After entering the body, the radioactive particles then damage the cells that line your lungs. Eventually, this may ensue in lung cancer. The question is, it commonly takes years for the onset of any symptoms that would alert the someone to the possibility of radon nearnessy in the home.
Fortunately, in up-to-date years there has been an growth in radon gas awareness and its potential health effects on citizen exposed to the gas. According to the United States' Environmental security agency (Epa), radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking, causing 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the U.S. From indoor air. Individuals who smoke, to begin with, are at even greater risks of contracting lung cancer.
It's estimated that 1out of 5 homes contains elevated radon levels. Some areas of the U.S., however, are worse than others. For example, Iowa and the Appalachian Mountain area in southeastern Pennsylvania reportedly have the top midpoint radon levels (for more state radon level statistics, see the Epa map at http://www.epa.gov/radon/whereyoulive.html.
New Jersey, in particular, has several counties that the Epa has marked as having a startling midpoint indoor radon level greater than 4 pCi/L (the maximum whole that should be gift in a home).
The Nj counties with the top levels of radon are:
• Hunterdon
• Mercer
• Monmouth
• Morris
• Somerset
• Sussex
• Warren
The Epa and Surgeon general recommend that all homes be tested for radon. This is where my "better safe than sorry rationale" comes into play. I've spoken with persons who have told me that they don't feel a radon inspection is primary because their homeowner friends who live in the area have told them that radon wasn't found in their homes. This may be true and the home you're seeing to buy may also be radon free, but what if it isn't? What if this hazardous, odorless gas is floating Straight through the air in your home and slowly harming you and your family?
Ultimately, you'll have to ask yourself whether the added fee or a flat fee for a radon inspection is worth it compared to the potential long-term curative effects of perhaps harboring undetected radon in your home.
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