Preparing For Radon Mitigation in Your Home
The prevalence of Radon Gas in the soils in
areas around the United States is an issue of growing concern. Radon has been
deemed the number 1 cause of lung cancer in non-smokers in a study done at the
University of Iowa. Radon gas is found in varying levels in almost all regions
of the country. Visit the EPA's Radon Map Zone at the following link.
Radon Map Zone Areas in Pink pose the highest risk followed by Orange and
Yellow. Click here to check the specific risk level in your county.
If your planned home is in an area of higher risk, you should plan early on to
install a Radon Mitigation System.
In many areas now, a test is required with each real-estate transaction
regarding residential properties and this will probably expand to include most
of the higher risk areas. In any event, your health is well worth the small
investment to install such a system.
Installing the basics of the system in a Basement or Slab-On-Grade Foundation
consists of inserting a perforated pipe below the slab in crushed rock and
stubbing up a connector into the basement. Venting this pipe to the exterior
(away from any windows in your house or your neighbors, preferably up through
the roof), constitutes what is known as a Passive Radon Mitigation System. If ,
after your house is complete, a test determines that levels are still too high,
you may have to convert to an Active Radon Mitigation System by installing a fan
than runs continuously which creates low pressure under the slab and increases
the rate of gas evacuation. So you will want to have the slab penetration in an
area that is readily accessible and has electric available to power the fan.
Many times the fan is located in the attic, particularly if your foundation is
slab-on-grade or crawl space. Also remember that you will want to make sure that
the vent through the roof does not allow water to fall down the pipe to the slab
below, this would not be a good thing for several reasons.
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If you are looking for a Denver Radon Contractor, please call us today at 303-915-5011 or complete our service request form.
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