Radon Levels Change with Cold Weather
Radon is an odorless, invisible, radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soil, and water. Radon can get into homes and buildings through soil, small cracks or holes in your home's foundation, or through water from a well.
Over time, breathing in high levels of radon can cause lung cancer. Those that are the most vulnerable to Radon effects are small children, pets, elderly people, especially those with breathing issues and of course, smokers.
Radon can build up in the air of homes and buildings. When you breathe in radon, its radioactive decay products can get trapped in your lungs. Over time, these radioactive materials increase the risk of lung cancer. It may take years before health problems appear.
The EPA estimates that radon causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths after cigarette smoking.
People who smoke and are exposed to radon have a 10 times greater risk of developing lung cancer from radon exposure compared with people who do not smoke and are exposed to the same radon levels.
Why ae Radon Levels Higher in Winter?
Winter levels can be higher, especially in areas where the level of cold is such that the ground will freeze, and where especially cold, to as much as 3 feet, which is known commonly as the frost barrier.
If you go back to the first picture in his post, you will see a level referred to as the soil level. In homes with basements, Radon can build up inside the house when the outside area does not allow for gasses to escape easily.
Any gas will penetrate through the slightest of openings, so basements with pipe service penetrations, or exits to sewers offer an easy way for below surface gases to get around the frost barrier and penetrate the house.
For those people living in cooler areas, who were so anxious to buy a home in the previous 2-3 years by not doing inspections, now could be the time to see if you did the right thing.
Take a walk around the neighbored and observe the homes that seem to have extra drain spouts. That bulge at the base of the stack is a suction fan that operates 24/7 to alleviate the Radon that was found in the house.
The second pipe is the stack that comes from the Radon system used to take the gas out of the water the family drinks.
A Radon inspection is not a difficult test to take. Most home inspectors have the electronic systems that offer instant results.
All tests are taken from the basement, and the duration of time is typically 48 hours.
In winter the testing would be done in an area away from a furnace, as that air is always circulating and can interfere with the results.
EPA recommends installing a system if your radon level is at or above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air. A "picocurie" is a common unit for measuring the amount of radioactivity.
If a test was done at time of purchase, and it was below the level of 4 pCi/L, it is most assuredly above that level with the frozen ground.
We all look at the homes we own as safe areas. We want to have the peace of mind that nothing bad can happen to us inside the house. For that reason, we install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to keep us safe.
Accordingly, if a short cut was taken at time of purchase to get the house, the testing that was passed, should have been done after the purchase to extend that comfort, we seek.
Also, just because the inspections were defrayed to get the house, situations may not be the same when it comes time to sell the house.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
A Radon system for air should cost around $2,000 depending on issues. For water it is considerably more expensive, and as the water is ingested, understandably that one would want the gas removed.
Water systems also have media that would need to be periodically disposed in a safe manner.
Radon Levels Change with Cold Weather
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