What is radon?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas, that means it continuously decays and releases radiation. It is produced from minerals in soil, such as uranium and radium. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless.

Why is radon important?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that each year 21,000 people die of lung cancer as a result of being exposed to elevated levels of radon. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer for smokers and the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers.
Although radon is present throughout the environment, radon levels indoors are generally higher which increase the risk of cancer.

Why is radon a common problem in Minnesota Homes?

Much of the soil in the Upper Midwest contains widespread uranium and radium. These minerals continuously break down to release radon gas. Therefore, Minnesota's geology provides an ongoing supply of radon.
In addition, a large percentage of Minnesota homes have elevated levels of radon in the indoor air because of how they are built and how they operate in our climate. One important factor is that many Minnesota homes have basements that are uses as living spaces.
MDH estimates that about one in three (1/3) Minnesota homes have enough radon to pose a significant risk to the occupants' health over many years of exposure.

How does radon enter a home?

Radon, because it is a gas, is able to move though spaces in the soil or fill material around a home's foundation. Minnesota homes tend to operate under a negative pressure - this is especially true in the lowest portions of the home and during the heating season. This negative pressure acts as a vacuum (suction) that pulls soil gases, including radon, into the lower level of the structure. Some causes of home vacuum are:

• Heated air rising inside the home (stack effect).
• Wind blowing past a home (downwind draft effect).
• Air used by fireplaces, wood stoves, and furnaces (vacuum effect).
• Air vented to the outside by clothes dryers and exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens, or attics (vacuum effect).

Radon can enter a home through the floor and walls -- anywhere there is an opening between the home and the soil. Examples of such openings include dirt floor crawl spaces, unsealed sumps, cracks in slab-on-grade floors, utility penetrations, and the tiny pore spaces in concrete block walls. A basement, of course, provides a large surface area that contacts soil material.

Major Radon Entry Routes

1. Cracks in concrete slabs.
2. Spaces behind brick veneer walls that rest on uncapped hollow-block foundations.
3. Pores and cracks in concrete blocks.
4. Floor-wall joints.
5. Exposed soil, as in a sump or crawl space.
6. Weeping (drain) tile, if drained to an open sump.
7. Mortar joints.
8. Loose fitting pipe penetrations.
9. Open tops of block walls.
10. Building materials, such as brick, concrete, rock.
11. Well water (not commonly a major source in Minnesota homes).

You should test for radon.

The only way to know if you have high levels of radon gas in your house is to test for it. The Surgeon General and the USEPA recommend testing all homes below the third floor for radon. In real estate transactions 1st Class Home Inspection will perform a short term test utilizing the accurate Sun Nuclear model 1027. This monitor employs technology that has been approved by the EPA since 1986. This test takes a minimum of 48 hours. We will provide you with the radon gas measurement results the same day that we pick up the radon monitor.  If the results of this test are 4.0 pCi/l or higher then mitigation is recommended.

Continuous Monitor Radon Test   $125
$90 With a home inspection