Radon Gas Testing
30% of NM homes have elevated radon
It's odorless and invisible. And it could kill you.
If the lowest level of the home you’re purchasing has a concrete slab floor, we recommend adding Radon Gas testing to your home inspection. According to the EPA and other studies, as many as 30% of NM homes have elevated radon levels. For an additional fee, we’ll place an electronic continuous radon monitor in the home for a minimum of 48 hours to record the radon level hourly during the testing period and provide a report at the end of the test. Testing is the only way to detect the presence and level of radon gas, which has no odor and is invisible to the naked eye.
A RADIOACTIVE GAS
What is radon?
Radon is a radioactive gas known to cause over 20,000 deaths from lung cancer annually. Radon gas is released by radium as part of the “decay chain” that occurs as the unstable element uranium decays into other elements in the soil and rock. As a gas, some of the radon decays in the open air, producing progeny that are radioisotopes of heavy metals that readily attach to other airborne particles (such as dust) making them easily inhaled. These radioactive particles are then free to attach to lung tissue which can cause cancer with enough exposure.
RADON GAS KILLS
Annual Deaths in the USA
FROM THE GROUND AND WELL WATER
How does it enter the house?
Typically when a home is built, a concrete slab is installed as the lowest floor. If there happens to be an ample amount of uranium under the home (or radium, more directly), radon, as a gas, can become trapped and build up pressure beneath the slab and behind the foundation walls. It then leaks into the home through every small crack and hole and becomes trapped in the home. Outside, the radon is free to dissipate into the open air, but inside this leads to an elevated level in the home.
WHERE RADON COMES FROM
The Radon Decay Chain
Element
Half-Life
Uranium 238
4.47 Billion Years
Elements in soil and rock
Thorium 234
24.1 Days
Protactinium 234
1.18 Minutes
Uranium 234
245,500 Years
Thorium 230
75,400 Years
Radium 226
1,600 Years
Radon 222
3.82 Days
Present in the atmosphere
Polonium 218
3.05 Minutes
Short-lived Radon progeny
Lead 214
26.8 Minutes
The radioactive decay particles that can cause lung cancer.
Bismuth 214
19.7 Minutes
Polonium 214
0.16 Minutes
Lead 210
22 Years
Long-lived Radon progeny
Bismuth 210
5 Days
The heavier-than-air particles that can’t easily be inhaled.
Polonium 210
138 Days
Lead 206
Stable
REDUCING INDOOR RADON GAS
How is radon mitigated?
Thankfully, radon is easy to test for and usually fairly simple to mitigate. Most mitigation in this area is done through a process known as “sub-slab depressurization”, or “active” mitigation. A hole is placed in the concrete slab floor, where a PVC pipe is installed and sealed. This pipe is typically run to the exterior, where an inline fan is installed. A pipe is then run from the fan up above the roof. This system works by preventing the built-up pressure that causes radon entry and typically reduces indoor levels by up to 95%. Many newer homes are built with this pipe already in place (without the fan, known as a “passive” mitigation system), so a fan can simply be added if more reduction is needed.
PRICING
Radon Gas Testing
- 48-hour active test done with state-of-the-art, tamper-resistant electronic continuous radon monitor, performed by a certified inspector holding AARST/NRPP membership.
- Full radon report with hourly readings delivered electronically at the end of the test period – no waiting for the lab.
- Price shown is valid when combined with a home inspection.
*Stand-alone radon testing services without a home inspection offered in Chaves County only. Call for pricing.
