Email Greg Vishey at - A1homeinspector@comcast.net
Radon Testing
Air Quality
Is Your Home Making You Sick?
A healthy indoor environment is one that promotes the comfort, health, and well being of the building's occupants. Conversely, a sick building can be distinguished by adverse symptoms associated with time spent in the building. Sometimes our homes can become contaminated with radiation, biological or chemical contaminants that cause adverse health effects.
Radon is a radioactive gas that comes out of the soil around our homes and can accumulate in our homes (the same way moisture can accumulate in our homes, basements or crawl spaces). This risk affects slab homes, homes with crawl spaces and homes with basements. It originates with Uranium deposits in our soil that slowly break down into other, lighter-weight elements over millions of years. One of the by-products of the radioactive decay of Uranium is Radon gas. Many people are unaware that Michigan has traces of Uranium in our soil. Some of it was here since the beginning of time and other deposits were left here by glaciers that covered this area 100,000 years ago that receded. Those glaciers dragged soil down from Canada from Uranium-rich areas and left those deposits on the land we now live upon.
As Radon accumulates in many of our homes, it can produce levels of radiation that are known to cause lung cancer. Since you want your home to be safe and healthy for your family, getting a Radon test is always recommended if you have no data on your home. Radon testing is very affordable and very easy to accomplish. Typically, a radon test is conducted over a 2-14 day period of time to represent your annual exposure in the home. Since test results can be influenced by changes in weather and home use, there are some controls that need to be followed during the test period to ensure the results are meaningful.
Testing usually costs less than $125 for a 2-14 day test (the test kit itself is relatively inexpensive). Setting it up properly, the lab fee and figuring out what to do with the results is actually what you are paying for. When combined with a Home Inspection or other services, discounts are possible since a sizeable part of the test cost is the transportation to and from the site for two visits.
Vishey Home Inspection has been key in identifying safe* and unsafe* Radon levels in several Rochester, Milford, Sterling Heights, Troy, Royal Oak and surrounding area homes. Some areas in S-E Michigan are clearly at higher risk than others but unusual readings and results are scattered all over S-E Michigan. This is why the Governor has made January to be Radon Awareness Month in Michigan. (*safe levels are defined by the EPA as annual levels below 4.0 Pico-Curies of radiation per liter of air).
As a Home Inspector, I do not sell repair services. I independently advise on the best ways to remedy problems and recommend suppliers who are both capable and properly credentialed to do radon mitigation. Occasionally, marginal unfavorable results can be coaxed back into safer levels with minor changes to the home and Greg Vishey can explain what those steps are. Typically, my services more-than pay for themselves by creating lower cost repairs and effective repairs.
Radon testing is accomplished by a variety of means, all of which measure radiation in some manner. The test method being used should be EPA approved and the person conducting the test should be properly trained and capable of understanding the subtle problems that can be created by improper test placement, use and interpretation.
Your home/condo should be tested if :
You are purchasing a new home and the seller/builder cannot provide recent test results.
Your newly built home comes with a radon clause in the contract but your builder is not required to do the testing
If major construction nearby may have disrupted the geology (soil) under or around your home
Past testing produced marginal "Pass" results in Spring, Summer or Fall months (tests are more likely to indicate higher levels in Winter months and need to be placed in that context).
If past testing was conducted over 7-10 years ago and no recent data is available
You are preparing to sell your house and you don't want any surprises from the Buyer's inspector.
Note: Many homes with water collection systems in the basement floor and open sump pump wells have the potential of high radon levels and should be tested.
Your home/condo should ABSOLUTELY be tested if your home is:
In Troy, Bloomfield Twp/Hills or Rochester Hills, North of 16 Mile and West of Dequindre
In Commerce Twp or Milford
Along Main Street in Royal Oak
In any S-E Michigan hilly region with many small lakes - these areas were typically created by glacial activity and test higher for Radon than adjoining areas.
...if your home is known to have previously failed a Radon test during a different season of the year..
Your home/condo should NOT be tested (without some change in process) if :
The home has been sitting vacant for a long period of time and has been closed up for that period. These homes will tend to fail an initial test (it could be invalid) and subsequent re-testing under normal living conditions is more likely to produce valid test results. Always test a home for Radon under normal living conditions since this is what you will experience while living in the home.
The home cannot be operated in a normal living condition. If contractors are keeping doors and windows open and a "normal closed environment" cannot be maintained, then tests should not be conducted.
If you would like your home tested for Radon, Call Greg Vishey at (586)665-0659 to arrange an appointment for testing.
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Email Greg Vishey at - A1homeinspector@comcast.net
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