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Radon A Silent Killer

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker 475.140531

Over the years as a Realtor in Evanston IL and Chicago land I have encountered Radon tests and never Radonhave had levels high enough to cause a concern. Because of this I really did not give it much thought until recently. First a little background on Radon.

Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as a decay product of radium. This gas is the 2nd highest cause of lung cancer in America right behind tobacco use. I want to quote the EPA for a minute.

EPA Radon Studies

The EPA offers a look at what they believe to be the risks of radon at different concentrations for 1,000 people who smoked and were consistently exposed to a certain level of radon during their lifetimes.

Radon Risks for Smokers

  • With exposure to 10 pCi/L, about 71 would get cancer, equal to 100 times the risk of dying in a home fire.
  • With exposure to 4 pCi/L, about 29 would get cancer, equal to 100 times the risk of dying in a plane crash.

Radon Risks for Non-Smokers:

  • With exposure to 8 pCi/L, about 3 would get cancer, equal to 10 times the risk of dying in a plane crash.
  • With exposure to 4 pCi/L, about 2 would get cancer, equal to the risk of drowning.

When  people purchase homes it used to be an occasional event to see a Radon test ordered but what got me thinking How Radon Enters a Houseabout it was that in the last two property listings I represented for sellers a test was performed during the inspection period. In both cases the levels were so low that no action was needed but I had conversations with the testers and learned some interesting information about this deadly gas that I want to pass on. More and more people are getting the Radon test when purchasing a home. Both testers were certified Radon testers and told me some interesting and scary information worth hearing.

One of the inspectors told me that occasionally he had found high levels of Radon in homes around Chicago land. The fellow mentioned that he has seen levels very high in one area and almost none in another just a few feet away and because of that an accurate test taking samples of multiple areas needs to be done to assure the home is safe.

The scary part was that I was told that they had been hired after a person got lung cancer and never smoked or was around smokers. When the tests were done high levels of Radon were found in an area in which the person who got this horrible cancer spent many hours of their life. It was not always basements too.

The story makes me feel that I want to suggest very strongly that Radon air sample tests be preformed when I have a client purchasing a home. I will insist on the testing and tell my buyers this disturbing story.

 

Comments (27)

Dick Greenberg
New Paradigm Partners LLC - Fort Collins, CO
Northern Colorado Residential Real Estate

Hi Noah - Radon tests are pretty standard fare here - we'll see about 15%-20% of homes with measureable radon, and perhaps a third of those over the EPA limits. Remediation is not too expensive given the risks - usually in the $800-$1600 range. The highest reading we ever saw was 238! but that was in the foothills with a lot of granite bedrock.

Nov 23, 2015 05:50 AM
Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert
Richmond, TX

Noah,

 Again learned something new! I hope you are having a great start to your week!

Nov 23, 2015 06:32 AM
Rob Thomas
Prestige Homes of The Tri Cities, Inc. CALL....423-341-6954 - Bristol, TN
Bristol TN-VA & Tri Cities Agent, ABR, GRI, e-Pro

Great post Noah Seidenberg ....we have a lot of Radon in our area ...Mitigation is easy and not a huge expense.

Have a great night!

Nov 23, 2015 06:48 AM
Roger D. Mucci
Shaken...with a Twist 216.633.2092 - Euclid, OH
Lets shake things up at your home today!

Very interesting and alarming facts about Radon....well done Noah, the word needs to get out and homes need to be tested.

Nov 23, 2015 07:34 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Noah- when we moved to Leesburg VA we had Radon tests when we moved in and when we sold our house.  There were no problems when we moved in  but were when we sold.  Thankfully it was not an expensive fix.

Nov 23, 2015 07:51 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Noah a radon test is a very wise thing to do around here because radon is an issue around here.  I recently had a deal fall apart because of radon levels in the  property and in the water.

Nov 23, 2015 08:01 AM
William Feela
WHISPERING PINES REALTY - North Branch, MN
Realtor, Whispering Pines Realty 651-674-5999 No.

of the apx 20 radon tests done in my area not one has even had a positive test no matter how low

Nov 23, 2015 08:02 AM
Noah Seidenberg
Coldwell Banker - Evanston, IL
Chicagoland and Suburbs (800) 858-7917

I thought the test was unnecessary William Feela until I heard this story and asked a few other people. For the most part we do not see it in Chicago land but for a couple hundred I would get a test, it is money well spent.

Nov 23, 2015 08:15 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hi Noah -- as Lottie Kendall commented, testing for radon is practically non-existent in our area.   Your post makes me wonder if there is more we need to do. 

Nov 23, 2015 08:43 AM
Olga Simoncelli
Veritas Prime, LLC dba Veritas Prime Real Estate - New Fairfield, CT
CONSULTANT, Real Estate Services & Risk Management

Good info on radon. In our area, where we have quite a bit of ledge, radon testing is routine, it's part of the inspection process. I have seen pretty high levels. Good news is, it can be remediated fairly easily. 

Nov 23, 2015 09:08 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Noah

Thanks for sharing your insight on radon.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Nov 23, 2015 11:36 AM
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Good morning Noah. I always recommend a radon test be done with every home inspection, unfortunately many just don't. Pretty cheap insurance policy.

Nov 23, 2015 07:14 PM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Good Tuesday morning Noah Seidenberg -

You've provided great information on radon.  In our area radon testing is often done near the Sandia Mountains but not so much in other areas of Albuquerque. It's nothing to mess around with.

Nov 23, 2015 08:49 PM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

My daughter worked for a environmental company and this is part of what she did. She shared a lot of good information. So did you.

Nov 23, 2015 09:54 PM
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

Here in Nh with so much granite we have areas that are above the average. Most recently one of the charts as they were blasting a street over and released it in mass. 

Nov 23, 2015 10:15 PM
Noah Seidenberg
Coldwell Banker - Evanston, IL
Chicagoland and Suburbs (800) 858-7917

Thanks friends I really appriaicate your comments.

Nov 23, 2015 10:17 PM
Nicole Doty - Gilbert Real Estate Expert
Zion Realty - Gilbert, AZ
Broker/Owner of Zion Realty ZionRealtyAZ.com

I just taught a class at my Real Estate school last week about Radon! 

Nov 24, 2015 12:21 AM
Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

Hi, Noah...it's hit and miss with radon out here. One home might have a heavy concentration of it, and the others around it will have very low levels. 

Nov 24, 2015 10:05 AM
Larry Johnston
Broker, Friends & Neighbors Real Estate and Elkhart County Subdivisions, LLC - Elkhart, IN
Broker,Friends & Neighbors Real Estate, Elkhart,IN

Hi Noah Seidenberg ,  We are having more buyers around here having Radon tests and finding high levels of Radon, so they are making steps to correct the levels.

Nov 24, 2015 11:20 AM
Wayne Johnson
Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper REALTORS® - San Antonio, TX
San Antonio REALTOR, San Antonio Homes For Sale

Noah-When we lived in Missouri we were advised to get a radon test, but it is not an issue here in South Texas. At least I've not heard of the test being needed here. But I'll ask around.

Nov 25, 2015 08:51 AM