Does anyone do Radon?...............................(Starch)

Joe Brix

...from a client today. She just bought a house, and the home inspector apparently tells her that the house has high radon levels. She asked if we could help her.

Does anyone here work with radon "abatement?" If so, what is involved? Are there classes or training available for this???? I'd like to be able to help her out, but don't want to get into something I'll regret......

Starch

Al Letellier_9

radon

I'm a home inspector as well and it depends on where you live as to what you can do. I would check with your state Environmental Protection folks or any state regulatory agency for air/water quality. Maine has recently made it difficult for the home inspector to do this kind of testing, let alone remidiation. We now have to be certified just to test for the stuff, even when you know its there anyway. It takes training, continuing education and of course a license fee to test for radon here. Best leave it to anyone that does air and water testing or remediation. It's becoming a growing industry. May be a good investment for you if no one does it in your area, but step carefully and do a ton of research before you leap. Your dealing with radiation and that spells LIABILITY.

kevin coppinger_4

the only time....

I have ever "gotten involved" w/ the at is on a new home adding a PASSIVE vent to the home by way of tying into the perimeter drain in the basement (which has crushed stone in it) and then running 3" PVC through the roof.... this is before any testing or if there was a problem...kpc

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Al Letellier_9

radon

Hey, Kevin. You are correct about venting the slab. It can be done passively but higher levels of radon require a fan be installed and a constant negative be held on the suction side. How much air flow and negative pressure is determined by the amount of radon and the efectiveness of the system, measured on follow-up inspections. Not a cheap solution, but a good one if radon really is an issue with the homeowner. It is often at higher levels in winter when the house is sealed up, and lower in summer when you can ventilate the spaces. Todays really tight houses almost demand air-to-air exchangers and a radon mitigation system to keep them "healthy"

BillW@honeywell

In NJ, you need to have a certifcation...

from the State. The training classes are held at the Rutgers environmental engineering school. Remdiation techniques are different depending on the levels of radon, but can include the slab venting mentioned above,with or without using a heat or energy recovery ventilator to positively pressurize the basement, plus sealing up all cracks and holes. NJ decided to certify radon remidiation contractors after a whole bunch of people were scammed by the quick buck artists back in the 80's when the radon scare first broke.

Joe Brix

Thanks everyone.....

....for the kind responses.

I will contact the local EPA office, and we'll see where it goes from there!

Starch