Saturday, March 1, 2008

Radon 101

Did you know that most of Colorado is in the "1" category of the EPA's radon zone maps, meaning our soils are at highest risk for leaching lung-cancer-causing radon?

Coloradans can print a coupon for a short-term (3-4 days) radon test (there may be a $20-30 testing fee) at CDPHE. I completed one from a different company for $30 and my results just came back.

My average reading was 3.8 something-something per something. A reading of 4 is when you need to test again and possibly mitigate. But since all the research has been on miners who are almost exclusively male and nearly all smokers, my exposure to lung cancer risk is, in my opinion, yet undetermined. So I'm going to test again. Either with another short-term, or a long-term (3 months) test, for which you can obtain a coupon from the above site for $20.

My resident energy and physics expert advises to avoid mitigation at these levels, for the fossil fuels that are burned to have a radon-purging fan running 24/7 may pose greater risk to my health and well-being than the actual radon in my basement, where I don't hang out a lot.

But doesn't this make you want to test your place, too??

Ah, yet another item in my life on which to collect data and avoid decisions!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

My brand new townhouse was rated at 7 or 8. Cost me $1000 to mitigate so I could sell it. I learned (at that time) that it's a bigger problem with unventilated new homes than old ones. Another good reason to live in an older home!

ChristianLiberalChick said...

Oops...K is CLC under a different log in.

Anonymous said...

What? You bought a new home? What have we missed?

I'm sure at radon is just another toxin that will cause me to die. I'm going to avoid the knowledge. Plus, I live in an older home and always have one of my windows cracked open just to air the old stank out.

rebeckspe said...

i believe that CLC has purchased and sold said townhome in the past. at least that's the impression that i get from her post.

yes, with never living in a home newer than 1945 in my adult life, i've never been too worried about radon.

InfoChef said...

Not concerned, on the theory that you have a drafty home?

Age alone isn't going to suffice here since mine was built in 1886.