Can the seller tamper with a homebuyer's radon test to change the results?.Do older houses have higher radon levels than new houses?.What is the average life expectancy of a radon mitigation system?.Do radon mitigation systems require maintenance?.Is radon mitigation possible for a condominium?.Can I test vacant land for radon before building a house?.Where do I find the Florida laws regarding radon?.What happens to a radon test result if the windows were opened, the test device moved, or there was any other evidence of tampering during the test?.Is a radon mitigation fan required to be on a dedicated circuit breaker/fuse in the electric panel?.Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about “RADON": However, if your initial test result is much more than 4.5 pCi/L, the possiblity of an average coming down to below 4.0 is slim. Usually the seller must pay for the second test, it must be done by a licensed radon tester, and the two test results are required to be averaged to get a new number. If you are selling a house and the buyer’s radon test exceeded the EPA’s acceptable max of under 4.0 pCi/L, and you feel the test was not a good sample and want it run again, you do have that option. New test equipment recognizes openings and closings of the doors and windows, changes in temperature and barometric pressure, and movement of the machine. Cheati ng - Opening doors and windows or moving the test equipment outside will lower the radon level read-out, but it will also void the test if modern electronic equipment is used.Since elevated radon in a house is based on an accumulation of the gas in a closed space, the “tighter” new construction will retain the radon gas longer. Older homes replace the total volume of air one to two times per hour, while newer home that are code-required to be more tightly sealed exchange only about half their air per hour. Age Of The House - Although a radon test is required to be a “closed house test" with all the windows and doors closed and exhaust fans off, all homes have a certain amount of air leakage, which is rated in air exchanges per hour.Sometimes testing in multiple rooms finds a “hot spot” in a particular room. But radon can vary from room to room on the same level, because the gas coming up through any openings under the home can vary. Test Location - A radon test should be performed in the lowest living level of a home, since that is where the radon concentration is likely to be higher.Any short-term test result can be a little higher or lower than a long-term test average. Although the average was 3.5 pCi/L (pico-curies per liter of air), the readings ranged from 1.0 to a peak of 8.1. The graph below shows the hourly change of radon levels over a two-day standard test for a recent real estate transaction. Length Of Test - Radon levels vary from hour to hour in a test.See our blog post Will opening the windows reduce the radon level in a house? for more on the stack effect. Time Of Year - Test results can vary seasonally, with the winter heating season tending to enhance the natural “stack effect” of a house.The change in barometric pressure and and ground saturation from rain during a thunderstorm will usually increase a radon test result, so it is not recommended to test during stormy weather. Weather - Changes in outdoor temperature and wind direction affect the radon result.There are also other variables that can create short-term changes in the results of a radon test. But a radon test result can vary wildly from house-to-house in any area. The yellow and green areas have progressively less probability. The map above of Marion County, Florida, shows a red area that encircles downtown Ocala that has a high liklelihood of elevated radon, for example. So some areas have a higher likelihood of elevated radon levels. See our blog post How was it determined that between 15,000 and 22,000 lung cancer deaths each year are caused by radon? for a more complete explanation of the harmful effects of radon exposure.īecause the density of radium deposits varies, the amount of radon generated and emitted into the air above also varies in different regions. But, while it is fresh, the radioactivity of the gas can damage your lungs and increase your risk of lung cancer. It has about a 4-day half-life, so the radioactivity of radon emitted a month ago is pretty close to zero today. Radon is a naturally occuring radioactive gas that is a byproduct of the atomic decay of radium in the ground.
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