ot radon

larry@stinescorner · Jun 2, 2012

my neighbor had her house tested for radon,they said it was high,for 1700 they will fix it, now she calls my wife and warns her we should get our house tested. Any one have info on radon? We live in nj, I am looking up info,but thought I would run it by the site here too. Thanks in advance... Larry

Pete in MD · Jun 2, 2012

Larry,
Have you googled: radon test kit? Lots of hits.

Rick Kr · Jun 2, 2012

Larry
In michigan most radon comes through the sump pump opening. Exposed to earth. Typically the sump is sealed with a cover then a small exhaust fan will pump the sump air to the outside. Similar in size to the exhaust blowers on a water heater. You can surely do it yourself for less than 1700.
Rick

Rick Kr · Jun 2, 2012

Larry
In michigan most radon comes through the sump pump opening. Exposed to earth. Typically the sump is sealed with a cover then a small exhaust fan will pump the sump air to the outside. Similar in size to the exhaust blowers on a water heater. You can surely do it yourself for less than 1700.
Rick

DownSouth · Jun 2, 2012

First thing I would check Larry, is the folks that supposedly did the test on the neighbors house. Most of these folks are in business to make money, and they don't mind stretching the truth a tad bit to make that buck.
Sort of like when we have a hurricane come through, suddenly we have thousands of roofers with years and years of experience and each one can beat the other ones price. Commonly known as the "Bend Over" test results.
Savy Kimosavea?

retired farmer · Jun 2, 2012

You don't ever want to plow up a field either, you will die of radiation poisoning. If you build a house, don't put a basement under it or the radon gas will get you. Don't go outside without five gallons of sunscreen lotion on or you will get skin cancer and die. Ever hear of anyone who got sick from being in a basement?

Anonymous-0 · Jun 2, 2012

(quoted from post at 04:05:15 06/03/12) You don't ever want to plow up a field either, you will die of radiation poisoning. If you build a house, don't put a basement under it or the radon gas will get you. Don't go outside without five gallons of sunscreen lotion on or you will get skin cancer and die. Ever hear of anyone who got sick from being in a basement?

ep, thats what happens when ya study the pizz out of sumtin... :wink:

Jerry/MT · Jun 3, 2012

Call your county health department and ask them about radon problems in your county. they should e able to tell you whether it"s something to test for. We have some radon problems out here in the West and I think maybe PA has them but I"ve never heard of them in NJ.

larry@stinescorner · Jun 3, 2012

yes I did it after I posted here,thanks

larry@stinescorner · Jun 3, 2012

thats a good idea ,thanks

Wile E · Jun 3, 2012

How "deadly" is Radon gas?
I was told years ago that in the state of Illinois you cant sell a home without a Radon Gas test. How do you fix the Radon gas problem if you fail the test.
Sounds like a bunch of crap.

larry@stinescorner · Jun 3, 2012

have to research it my wife said too!

larry@stinescorner · Jun 3, 2012

I tend to agree with you

larry@stinescorner · Jun 3, 2012

I definatly agree with you there. I am going to get a test kit,but have to send it to a lab.

larry@stinescorner · Jun 3, 2012

they say it can cause lung cancer,

Wile E · Jun 3, 2012

Hmmm...Sounds like it could be serious.
Butt......How much exposure to Radon for how long to get lung cancer? It is possible to die or get lung cancer from something else. I think if you were to get an air ventilation system you might be okay. I think you would have to be a cigarette smoker in addition to the Radon gas to get lung cancer. Just a thought. I have other stuff to worry about.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2012

I think the big problem has cropped up with the newer air-tight houses. Remediation is ventilation to move the radon out of the house. Seems I've seen do-it-yourself test kits in hardware stores. You take the sample or samples and mail them in. My house isn't air-tight so I never checked. Good luck-
Joe in ny

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2012

(quoted from post at 04:22:36 06/03/12) I think the big problem has cropped up with the newer air-tight houses. Remediation is ventilation to move the radon out of the house. Seems I've seen do-it-yourself test kits in hardware stores. You take the sample or samples and mail them in. My house isn't air-tight so I never checked. Good luck-
Joe in ny

I think you just won the banana..........

people screw up here constantly by buying old houses then insulating/sealing them all up....

Formerly PaMike · Jun 3, 2012

Here is PA radon is a "big deal". Causes lung cancer, so they say. We got a system put in, and it was right around the same price you stated. Dig around on the internet a little. You could easily put a system in yourself if you wanted. Not much to the system.

DownSouth · Jun 3, 2012

There you go buddy, test it yourself and see if there is anything to be concerned with.
I would still ask a few questions of the neighbor about who tested for them and did they get the results in writing etc. Then maybe check BBB for any hits on them. Also ask if they too have self tested and if not offer to get a test kit for them too since they have set your wifes mind wandering! Good Luck.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2012

I'm gettin this picture of the Orkin (or ??) guy showing up with a little jar of roaches or an icepick and wood powder.....

Bspauld · Jun 3, 2012

My wife had lung cancer which caused her death last month. When we found she had it the first thing I did was test the hosue for radon. Its an underground house but the levels were low. if memory serves me correct it was 1.9 and the state says if it gets to 4.0 its time to worry. We have been in the house for 30 + years

DownSouth · Jun 3, 2012

Exactly Dave, but down here it's usually termites......not cockroaches. The cockroach would be the man holding the jar!

LJD · Jun 3, 2012

The part of New York I live in has a very high radon rate. We used a "free" test kit from the county. We tested very high. So I read up on it. There is NO set level that has ever proven to be dangerous. It's all a big guess. That being said, we got rid of our dirt floor in the basement. Poured a vapor barrier and concrete and vented it.

Greenday · Jun 3, 2012

the only fix to radon gas is just blow in fresh air.

Robert NC · Jun 3, 2012

Back in the early 90s I was at Fort Dix. They came around and put radon testers in every house on post. Never did find a real significant amount in any of the houses at that time.

Anonymous-0 · Jun 3, 2012

(quoted from post at 06:40:44 06/03/12) Back in the early 90s I was at Fort Dix. They came around and put radon testers in every house on post. Never did find a real significant amount in any of the houses at that time.

Of course not... There are enough folks leaching off the government for "service related" conditions as it is....
Not badmouthing anyone that has real conditions thru no fault of there own...

JDseller · Jun 3, 2012

We have the radon issue here in Dubuque County too. The fix is usually a small ventilation fan that moves air under the foundation/slab in the basement. Here any house that has a basement has to be tested before it can be sold. A friend just had his done as he is moving back to the home farm. His tested at the high side of normal so he went ahead and had it fixed. The contractor drilled a 2 inch hole in each end of his basement floor. Then they put a small fan drawing out air from under the slab. They then went to the other hole and did a smoke test to see if there was air flow under the slab. HE said you could see the smoke be drawn down through the hole. He even had them shut the fan off to show him it was actually drawing the smoke and not something else doing it. He said it was the fan doing the air flow. So the one hole got plumbed up to a ventilation fan that blows the air out side the house and the other end has a filter on it to keep dust/dirt from being draw into it. The company he had do the work gave him a test kit to check the basement with after two weeks of the system being put in. The gave him two sensors. One he sent to them for a test and the other went to the county health department where they sent it out for a test. I thought it was a stand up company that would provide a independent test to prove that they had done their job.

His problem was solved. I think it cost him about $3500 total for everything.

I have a rock basement and I had it tested years ago and they told me I did not have an issue because I have a lot of sandy ground around the house area. They told me it takes a clay based soil to have real high radon level.

I have wondered how you would install a ventilation/radon system in areas that have water problems. I would think that drilling the holes in the floor would make the basement be wet. Have any of you guys ever had a system installed???

Billy NY · Jun 3, 2012

Larry, I have always wondered about Radon, nice of you to post this. I'm not sure how it is in this area, but in this house, the garage and basement are one, so there is always a draft, like for the wood stove, + when its nice, low humidity days, I will leave those doors open to get cool air in there, then keep em closed when it gets hot/humid, so the man cave in the back near the stove, ( my little outpost)& back up solar batteries stays cool mid 60's, 70 F tops, like having A/C, so I spend some time there, usually watching the baseball game, hopefully there is enough ventilation and you get yours squared away, who needs that worry on top of everything else in life.

Marc_FL · Jun 3, 2012

Interesting you did not have your house tested.

Having lived in New Jersey for almost 2 decades both in East Hanover,near Morris County then moving to Manfield, Warren County it was mandated by the State that a Radon test be done prior to occupation of the house

That said they tested and found no problem. The County or town is a good resource.

Like a lot of folks said on this thread, venting is the remediation.

MSD · Jun 3, 2012

Radon test were a big thing around here a few years ago. Every new house we sold seems they requested a test be done. I always told them to test it at their expense and if it is high, it is their expense to put in the system. They checked a few of them but never put anything in to do anything for it. I thought it was a joke myself. They would come into a new house that was sealed up for weeks at a time when it was for sale and put their test kit in. Of course it would be high with no air ever getting exchanged. They did it at one house one time so I went and opened the basement windows off and on while the kit was in there and surprise, it came back as low. Tester couldn't figure out why. Then you never heard anything about it again. The couple that bought my last house decided they should have it tested even thought the house they lived in never had it done. They read about it somewhere on the internet so they thought they should have it done. It was a high reading so he got a sealed cover for the sump pit and has a fan on it. Claims that lowered the level.

Buster · Jun 3, 2012

I wonder if the chances of getting lung cancer from Radon are higher in California? :>)

buickanddeere · Jun 3, 2012

You and wil e need to know what you are talking about before offering an opinion. Radon is the most aggressive ionizing radiation there is. More than gamma or Beta. It"s a helium nucleus stripped of electrons with about 5M electron volts energy. External exposure is nil as Alpha can not penetrate through clothing or the top layer of dead skin cells. Internal uptake is another matter. Inhale Alpha and you directly expose live respiratory tissue. And the entire digestive tract as we swallow much of the phlegm we cough up or have run from our nasal/sinus cavities. Radon is a hazard. Btw I"ve held a orange, yellow and now green radiation protection qualification for the past 21+ years. What are your qualifications?

ot radon

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