Top 10 Myths and Facts About Radon

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Top 10 Myths and Facts About Radon
This article researches top 10 myths and facts
about radon, from examining the claims of
scientists who say radon is not dangerous to the
question of whether short-term tests are enough
to take action against radon.
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Myth 1 Radon isnt dangerous
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Fact To understand this first out of many radon
myths, its important to first review some
background. Namely, who is saying radon isnt a
problem? Many people in the lay community and
even in the scientific community have claimed
that radon is not an issue to worry about. For
instance, a 1995 study from an American scientist
named Dr. Bernard Cohen challenged the
Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) findings
about radon, claiming that the EPAs results had
a fundamental flaw based on a misunderstanding of
radon dosage. He basically says that just because
very high levels of radon can lead to cancer, it
is erroneous to think that maeans low levels of
radon pose a risk.
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Myth 2 Radon tests are expensive and take a long
time
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Myth 2 Radon tests are expensive and take a long
time
Fact It is one of the common radon myths. A
simple preliminary radon test is not at all
expensive. You can buy short-term radon test kits
for as little as 15 (National Radon Program
Services). The cheaper short-term tests are going
to be less accurate than others, but they will at
least give you a rough idea of radon levels in
your home. And they tend to take around 27 days,
which means they are not time consuming. Whats
more, once the radon test is underway you need
only to wait. In this sense, theyre not overly
complex to conduct.
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Myth 3 You cant solve radon problems in all
homes
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Myth 3 You cant solve radon problems in all
homes
Fact First of all it should be noted that only
6 of homes have radon levels that need to be
resolved through a form of mitigation (National
Radon Program Services). Secondly, homes can be
fixed through a number of different means, from a
homeowner caulking foundation faults in their
basement to the installation of a radon
mitigation system in your home. The National
Radon Program Services note that virtually any
home can be fixed, citing the above methods as
the most common solutions.
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Myth 4 Only some types of home need to worry
about radon
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Myth 4 Only some types of home need to worry
about radon
Fact Radon is not attracted to ranches more than
victorian style homes. This might seem facetious,
but it is essentially the argument people make
when they say specific home types need to worry
about radon and others dont. The fact of the
matter is radon comes up from the ground, and it
depends on variable factors like soil and
atmospheric conditions (University of
Minnesota), among other factors such as
construction materials and structural soundness.
In short, no home is more or less susceptible
because of its type.
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Myth 5 You only need to worry about radon if you
live in certain areas of the country
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Myth 5 You only need to worry about radon if you
live in certain areas of the country
Fact Some blogs claim that if you live in
certain parts of the country you should be more
concerned with radon than if you live in other
parts of the country. While its true that there
are regions with more and less radon, the idea
that you dont need to worry about radon just
because you live in a region that tends to have
low radon levels is unfounded. Radon levels are
very local, and depend on soil composition,
atmospheric conditions, home construction, etc.
(University of Minnesota). Thus, it would be
foolish not to be concerned about radon for the
sole reason that the region in which you live
tends to have low radon levels.
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Myth 6 Radon tests from a neighbors house are
accurate indications of radon in your own home
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Myth 6 Radon tests from a neighbors house are
accurate indications of radon in your own home
Fact A common one in all the radon myths.
Unfortunately, its not true. A study from the
National Institute of Health showed that soil
composition and ground permeability are key
factors affecting radon in your home, and they
are factors that are specific to your plot of
land (NIH). And while the argument could be made
that your neighbors house is built in the same
soil and close enough to your own house to know
that the ground permeability is relatively
constant, differences in home construction
between your home and theirs could alone account
for different readings of radon. A resource
called Radon Awareness cites cracks in a
foundation as enough to allow significant levels
of radon into your home. This fact renders the
neighbor test idea moot.
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Myth 7 All homeowners should conduct water radon
tests
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Myth 7 All homeowners should conduct water radon
tests
Fact Radon testing is important, but water radon
tests should be conducted after air radon tests.
For one, many homes receive their water from a
public water infrastructure, which should test
and report radon levels. If you get your water
from a personal well, a water radon test might be
advisable, but a test of radon in the air would
be an easier first test to conduct. This air test
would tell you if radon is present, and airborne
radon tends to be more dangerous than waterborne
radon.
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Myth 8 Selling a home that has a history of
radon is difficult
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Myth 8 Selling a home that has a history of
radon is difficult
Fact Unaddressed radon problems are obviously
not attractive to homebuyers. But if measures
have been taken to fix radon levels, and they
have been shown to work, this can actually
increase home value. Many real estate agent claim
a resolved radon issue through a permanent
structural fix or a radon mitigation system have
a neutral effect or else a positive effect on
your ability to sell a home. Radon myths like
these are unfortunate as they can lead to
inaction. 
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Myth 9 Having lived in my house for many years
it wouldnt matter if I took action against radon
now
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Myth 9 Having lived in my house for many years
it wouldnt matter if I took action against radon
now
Fact This is probably the least fortunate of all
the radon myths. As the National Cancer Institute
notes, Long-term exposure to radon can lead to
lung cancer. It is long term exposure that
matters, so its never really too late to check
your home for radon. At the very least, you might
find out you do have high radon levels, allowing
you to take action to protect your home.
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Myth 10 Short-term tests arent enough to make a
decision about taking action to fix radon in your
home
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Myth 10 Short-term tests arent enough to make a
decision about taking action to fix radon in your
home
Fact This last of of many myths is still a
common one. The fact is that short-term tests can
be enough, provided you use more than one.
Radon.com notes that two radon tests could be
enough to take action provided that at least one
of the tests is above the recommended 4.0 pCi/L.
This would indicate that levels at least some of
the time are above recommended level, and
therefore that you might want to take action.
Note that if you conduct two radon tests and
neither is above 4.0 pCi/L that does not mean you
are safe from radon. To conclusively know if you
are safe from radon you must consistently monitor
radon level. That said, short term tests can lead
to radon mitigation action if they conclusively
show radon levels are too high.