Robert wrote Another concern is whether there are children in the house. If so then the answer to your question is a no-brainer.
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Or pets, especially those who are confined to the basement during the workday and/or at night. They, even more so than children, are often breathing the air right at the floor level in the basement. And we know that area is where the radon concentrates the most.
This site has a lot of good info even though my uncle did it.
In TODAY'S US government?! NOT!!!! Nowadays, their oversight SUCKS because shrub just don't care about anything but big business!!
"The US EPA is full of Chicken Little's who really believe that even .00000000001 micrograms of anything is harmful"
Yes.
related question, if you have a interior french drain open to air
Yes
THANKS! Its a coming project!
I don't smoke, but somebody as dumb as you scares me a lot more than somebody "dumb enough" to smoke.
Hey its the truth, My aunt a non smoker died from lung cancer, her hubby is a chain smoker. He didnt care about either of their health:(
anyone who smokes today :(:(:( they dont have their head screwed on right
Very Cute, my uncle. He's my uncle too, and he's touched me in the wrong ways. :(
tom
Ok, guys, after reading all these suggested solutions....
Radon-222 abatement is NOT rocket science.... Get EPA/625/R-93/011 and read it. The only effective method is SSD (Sub-Slab Depressurization). It will also keep your basement a lot drier. Opening a window or using a fan in your basement will only draw it in (chimney effect). Caulking the floor-wall joints will help (use a polyurethane caulk, not a silicone, since it is a concrete foundation). It IS a DIY job, though you will need to rent a 4" masonry drill from the Borg... Depending on what is under the floor; crushed stone is good, sand will require a lot more holes since the air infiltration is very poor.
An earlier posting on smoking and radon is very true.... the combination effect is VERY deleterious....
Measure your first-floor radon levels. If they are low, and you don't spend much time in the basement, it doesn't really make any difference.
As someone who lives in the Granite State (uranium and granite are a classic combo), I have been down this road a few times.... Though it may be one of the noble gases, it is also a harmful one.
Just my two cents,
--Paul
snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:
Where was it measured? In an unfinished basement, finished basement, or main level? If it was in an unfinished basement, I'd do nothing. If it was measured in living space I wouldn't lose sleep over it, understanding that I'd most likely have to do the mitigation before I sold the house.
I sold a house in '93 that was about the same as yours (6pC/l). The relocation firm made me put in a sub-slab ventilation system costing about $1200 at the time. :-( I wouldn't have done it myself (and turned the damn thing off) since it was measured in basement space that we rarely used, though finished.
My brother was over 250pC/l. I asked him if he needed lights in his basement. ;-)
I wouldn't worry about 6pC/l, particularly if it wasn't measured in main-floor living space (or in bedrooms, etc.). Any buyer of the home
*will*.
Strangely, the document that you just suggested we read doesn't support your subsequent assertion. Sub slab venting is the *BEST* method, assuming your basement permits that, but it's by no means the only one. Some basements don't have a porous enough substrate for that to work. For others, it's an invitation to flooding.
Oh, bullshit. If you were sucking replacement air through the planet, that might be an issue. As it is, I'd be more worried about the opening allowing enough outside air into the basement that the house could then suck basement air into the living space.
In any case, with a pair of fans, one in, one out, you can pretty much set the relative pressure in the basement to any reasonable level, while still diluting the air.
You'll never get the radon count to zero, this way, but you should easily be able to get it to tolerable levels.
It was measured in the unfinished part of our basement. About 2/3 of the basement is finished. My wife's office is there, and a rec room. I did the test about 10 feet away from the sump.
It was measured back in April, with the house closed up, and all of us out of town.
You should retest in the finished part of the basement, though there may not be that much difference. At 6pC/l, I wouldn't remeadiate[*] it unless I was going to sell in the next couple of years. How many hors a day does your family spend in the basement?
If I were to do the remediation the fist thing I'd do is seal the sump. That alone might get you under the wire. For my installation (split-foyer raised ranch - no sump), the pump was $400ish and the whole thing >$1200 for about four hours work. I'd do that myself knowing what I know now, though drilling a 5" hole in the floor isn't my idea of fun.
DOn't just seal it, run a pair of pipes into and out of the sump from the outside, and drive air in one and out the other with muffin fans.
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