Radon Testing FAQs with Bruce Snead

[@petercrowley6720]

Great job! You guys are a credit to the industry. Thanks for your service.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@jfrenzen3084]

Bruce is an excellent speaker and resource

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Yes, he is! I'm looking forward to seeing him at the radon symposium this weekend. How do you know Bruce? Did you know he retired?

[@Steve-vu1ej]

Extremely informative. Thank you both for taking the time to make this. We've been in our house for 13 years & tested at 7.3 in a year-long charcoal test that ended in August. We had a system installed this month that is a cookie-cutter exterior punch-a-hole-in-the-floor-and-wall system. No PFE testing or sealing was done. I got our quote over the phone without an inspection because I didn't do enough homework beforehand. Our follow-up test was 3.5 with +/- 0.4 on an AirCheck test which did not seem good enough to me - especially given our past exposure - so, now $1200 & 2 months later I am much more focused on research. I found your channel while searching for the "What if one radon suction point is not enough". You have opened up the world of radon mitigation for us. Thank you so much for these videos. They will undoubtedly save lives.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Steve. They mean a lot.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

To each their own.

[@ddjgirl3619]

Thank you. Very informative.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

You are welcome!

[@marciasharp2702]

Thank you so much for the info. We have been testing our house and we have had high levels up to 10 at some times. My specific question is about the progeny left that can attach to particles. We have a lot of dust in our house on many antiques and our house is "overcrowded". I am concerned about toxicity of dust particles on any of these items. Thank you again.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

You're welcome, Marcia. I'd reach out to the National Radon Hotline, as they will be better equipped to answer your question. sosradon.org/Contact

[@LibertyOrDeath7230]

Great video. I wish he would have gone more specifically into why people shouldn't be concerned about drinking water with radon in it, as that seems to be the more common concern people have.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Maybe we'll touch on that more next time we do one of these videos with Bruce. Here's a link that talks more about radon in water sosradon.org/water-basics#:~:text=pose%20a%20risk%3F-,How%20does%20radon%20get%20in%20water%3F,and%20goes%20into%20the%20air.

[@eugeniashen4819]

Are the plants behind you air cleaners?

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Possibly? They are not my plants.

[@ericpamcrouch8013]

Great information. I have a Radon Eye RD 200 Smart Radon Detector that I purchased and have been using since post mitigation. Is this one of the recommended approved devices that you would recommend using?

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Thank you. Bruce is a wealth of knowledge. Your monitor is not on the list of NRPP-approved devices, as it is intended for consumer use. Professional continuous radon monitors (CRMs) are sent to a lab for annual calibration to ensure their accuracy. Here is a list of NRPP-approved devices. nrpp.info/devices/approved-devices/

[@grantv2313]

I’d be curious to know what he felt would be the point at which you really should get a system put in besides just the 4 or more guideline . Like what does that mean? An average of 4 over a week? Month? Three months? Year? Then is that whole house, just the basement, one section of the basement? Then what if you only average 4 for half the year and the other half of the year you are low? I’d like more data on why 4 was selected as well. Obviously we all want zero levels but from what I’ve heard it’s very hard to keep levels below 2. So far in my testing I saw a high one day in one location of 5.75. Then 3s and 2s at the other end of basement and 2.2 upstairs on first floor directly above the high section in basement where furnace is. My long term average for the month is sitting right at 4.0. I don’t know yet what my levels are in the warmer months . I’m testing right now in middle of winter with below zero temps.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

I would mitigate anything above 2.0 in my own house. It's really how comfortable you are with risk. The lower your radon, the lower your risk and exposure to a radioactive gas that has the potential to cause lung cancer.

[@martinlutherkingjr.5582]

In residential settings literature seems to indicate a cumulative risk of respiratory problems from radon exposure so from a health standpoint the long term average is generally what is most applicable. The national indoor average for radon is 1.3 pci/L so by being exposed to 4.0 pci/L for a lifetime, you more than triple your chances of lung cancer. There’s a table on the EPA website that shows the risk of lung cancer for different radon levels (for adults, children haven’t been studied). Lung cancer has a high mortality rate because by the time it has symptoms the patient is often at stage 4 (dead in 0-2 years). I would put in quite a bit of effort to get it to 1.0 pci/L. Most of us don’t know our lifetime radon exposure and since it’s cumulative we could have already inhaled a lifetime’s worth of radon from unknowingly living in a house with super high radon levels at some point in our lives.

[@traceystock7352]

We bought our new home in 2020 and had the home inspection company do the test for three days which came back with a minimum of 0.3, maximum of 6.6 (at two moments out of three days) and an average of 2.1 for the three days. The overall radon result was 2.1 in green with no mitigation recommended but in small print it showed a range which included anything between 2 and 3 to consider mitigation. So I really don't know what to do. If I mitigate against radon wont that be a red flag to future buyers? If they get the same test results when we sell it will show no mitigation necessary.

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

If it were my home, I would mitigate. Radon fluctuates and may be higher or lower the next time the home is tested. I see a mitigation system as an added benefit. However, if it was an exterior system, with the piping and fan on the side of the house, I would think that's something I'll have to remove and install a system that runs through the house. I believe exterior systems are not aesthetically pleasing.

[@nikonlapse]

I really appreciate the consistent high quality content on this channel. I'm wondering how do you manage your own exposure to radon as a professional radon mitigator, being that you regularly spend time inside homes with high radon concentrations?

[@AmericanRadonMitigation]

Thank you, that means a lot. I’ll be the first to admit that I lack a lot of knowledge about the health effects of radon. I have heard that the radon level is all that most people think about, forgetting about the length of time they are exposed to that level of radon. A high radon level over a short period is likely not as bad for you compared to a lower level over an extended time. Linda tracks Jon’s exposure in a spreadsheet using the radon levels the customer reports to us and the time he spends in the home to ensure he doesn't reach the threshold. This is another area I’m not well versed in. It is, however, covered in the entry-level mitigation course if you like to learn more about it. We like to get the radon fan installed on the first day of an installation to see the effect it has on the radon levels to determine if additional work is required. If the radon levels are unusually high, we will open windows in the basement to lower the levels. Most homes we mitigate are in the 2-10 pCi/L range, so they are not off the charts like some of the homes Bill Brodhead works on. I'd be interested to hear how he would answer this question. Maybe we should have him in video? 🤔 Thanks for the question!