Debunking the myths of radon hazards

[jay trotta]

Caoimhin;

funny you should bring up this issue - I can remember a few years back a Real Estate Agent asked my opinion of a situation in a sale she was doing in regards to "radon".

the Lady (Owner) had passed on and the estate was Selling the house; Buyer came into the deal & as usual ordered an inspection; they found "radon" to be present at some level higher than acceptable. The agents question was; how did I think this would affect/impact a future deal if this one fell apart.

I asked how "old" this lady was that owned the house ? 92 and how long had she lived there ? since the 1960's - so then I asked what did she die from ? natural causes was the response. I said, there ya have it, just can't live in any house that long.


Some area's may have problems, but I do not believe it's consistent thruought any "entire" state. In the Western section of our state there have been studies that indicate there are veins of "gases" that run thru the area and it may be a problem in that area, but not the entire state.

 

[Mr Rex]

Jay, it runs in veins here too, that typically follow the granite formations, the closer to the surface, the higher the levels typically. An appraiser buddy of mine got concerned after hearing some horror story and asked me about it. I told him the same thing I tell most folks, go to this site

http://www.ncradon.org/

and make up your own mind. I sent him a couple of canisters, and after the test came back @ 12 & 15pCi/L, he opted to have remedial measures taken, @ a cost of about $1500. Whether he was in any danger or not is debatable, but he now feels a lot better about spending so much time in his basement office cranking out reports.

Of course, one of the most common things I find in home inspection are moisture related problems under houses in the crawlspace and basements and poorly sealed duct work and air handler equipment, which means mixing crappy air(that contains whatever airborne contaminants are in the crawlspace air) into the conditioned air inside the home. If I were to build a new home, I think I would spend the few $100's extra to mitigate the radon potential up front and/or build with an enclosed/sealed crawlspace. My .02.