Radon Gas

[Sparky-30]

Scam or really a problem?

[rubicon]

Sparky radon gas where? Here or anywhere? I had a sump pump wheel in my basement up north without a sump pump that was selaed yet before I could sell my home I had to produce results of a radon test which registered positie and cost me a pretty penny to install a radon system before I could sell my house. It may be a scam but the laws in MN made me correct the ghost problem????

[bestmickey]

I think it's a real problem. I worked with scientists at NYS Dept of Health who studied and monitored radon levels within NYS. Here's a link to some info. You can Google and find plenty of other scientific data.

http://search.nyhealth.gov/search?q=radon&site=default_collection&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd

[Bill-n-Brillo]

See:
http://www.epa.gov/radon/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon

How much credibility you give such assessments is up to each individual. A lot of the concern will probably have to do with what part of the country the house is located. Also, if there are enclosed areas (such as a basement) where there isn't a lot of air exchange, that can increase the likelihood of radon gas accumulating.

The county where we recently built in OH is well known for radon issues. We had the home inspected after construction was completed and as expected, it tested above the standard. As part of the construction and the contract with the builder, the house was built with the appropriate piping installed from the basement up to the attic along with a separate electrical circuit and receptacle in the attic so that installing the mitigation system would be very straightforward. Works well and now tests well under the specified standard.

Bill

[Sparky-30]

Radon scam, same folks trying to sell us on Global Warming.?

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/08/radon-business-is-scam.html

[kentucky blue]

Radon scam, same folks trying to sell us on Global Warming.?

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/08/radon-business-is-scam.html

It's all a big scam, and you can thank those worthless lawyers who advertise on TV.Any lawyer that cannot generate business through their own firm, reputation, or word of mouth should get out of the business. I'm sooooooooooo disgusted with all the "ambulance chasers" on TV 24/7, and lawyers wonder why they are hated sooooooooooooo much.My next door neighbor's home is over 80 years old, the first family lived there for 60 years, they both passed away in their niineties, the radon must have killed them!!!!!!!!.Now the doctor that just moved in has installed a radon system that makes his home look atrocious, with pipes coming out the basement and ending at the roof line.You want to bet they don't make it to their nineties.

[oldnewt]

I agree with Kentucky Blue. I have worked in the nuclear industry for the last 44 years. I am a Health Physicis responsible for radiation protection of workers. Radon is a natural radioactive material that has been in the enviornment since the beginning of time. Chances of contracting cancer from radon is no greater than any other of the hundreds of environmental pollutents we are all exposed to everyday (my opinion). Most people don't realize that all drinking water (even bottled water) contains radon and tritium (radioactive hydrogen). Tritium is also produced naturally in the environment. If you have a basement and plan on spending the majority of time in it then proper ventilation should relieve any concerns.

As a side we will be in the villages next week to buy our retirement home.:jester:

[Challenger]

we live in Western Maryland and the area is noted for higher than national average radon levels. A few years a noted Johns Hopkins physician and public health reseacher addressed our Rotary Club. In answer to questions about radon issues , he stated that the "tempest " was largely in the "teapot". His advice was to allow for reasonable ventillation and give up smoking. Apparently, the radon attaches to the smoke and is carried into the lungs of smokers , increasing the incidences of cancer in these individuals. Non smokers in our area where diagnosed with national average cancer rates, even in homes with higer radon levels. His advice :don't waste your hard earned money on expensive radon testing and mitigation. Sorry smokers!

[redwitch]

I remember when radon was a big scare in California. Mind you, few homes have basements there, so the radon was in the attics. Trying to convince people that radon was a natural phenomen was hard to do. Many wasted their money to protect themselves from a natural gas. My opinion was and is that radon can be dangerous, but not half as dangerous as driving a car. There are times when a home does in fact have too much radon, usually because of poor ventilation. If that's the case, it should be fixed -- not because of the radon but because of poor ventilation, which lets many gases build up. Like many risks, common sense should prevail.

[rubicon]

Well I totally agree with so much concerning the latest posts. I had always believed that the radon gas claim was artificially manufactured and ignored it until a propsective buyer said mitigate or lose the sale. As for TV attorneys, many responsible attorneys cringe at the sight of these ads. What surprises me the most is that the governement has done nothing to demand of them responsible disclosures. for example many of the claims they make concerning insurance coverages are benefits that by law must be offered to policyholders. Yet they imply that without their services such benefits will be withheld , never offered, etc.

Do you suppose it has something to do with the fact that the majority of congress is comprised of attorneys and the largest and most influential lobby in Washington happens to be the Trial Lawyers Association.

[gongoozler]

Get rid of those granite countertops . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD0ln4zxMK0

[kentucky blue]

Get rid of those granite countertops . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD0ln4zxMK0

How did our parents and grandparents EVER survive without all these "caring, concerned, and devoted " lawyers that we have today:censored:

[senior citizen]

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[Bigben007]

We just sold our house and are headed to the Villages for good. We were required to have a radon test for the sale. Our reading read 9 and apparently anything over 4 has to be addressed.

When the tech came to install the radon remediation system he asked what our reading was, when my husband told him 9, he couldn't believe it. He said they don't usually address it until it reaches 20. It costs us $795.00 but had to be done for the closing. My husband also works in nuclear and says this is all crazy.

[espulmano]

Scam or really a problem?

Sorry to say that if you live in a house with elevated radon levels, and you want to sell said house, you will have to insert a radon elimination system... doesn't matter how long you lived in the house without the system. If you want to sell the house you WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. Don't mean to sound crass, but that is fact.

[JSR22]

Tomorrow is our home inspection, septic system inspection and radon test. Our realtor told us don't be shocked when we have to put in a radon system. If that's our only problem I will be very happy.

[mulligan]

Major scam IMHO. Do you trust your government??

[Bill-n-Brillo]

When we sold our prior house here in OH, we gave the buyer money towards his closings costs in lieu of putting in a radon mitigation system (since the house failed the test). But we also had a document prepared for the buyer to sign stating that we would not be held responsible at any point in the future if a mitigation system was installed and it was unable to bring down the radon level to the acceptable standard.

Knowing everybody's concern lately regarding the topic, we went ahead and put a mitigation system in our new house when it was built.

Bill :)

[senior citizen]

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[JSR22]

We had to have ours removed and inspected by the town and a new one put in the basement. The good news is we had an offer in 6 weeks from a young couple who are renters and prequalified for a mortgage. The offer came in one week after my husband buried St. Joseph.

[senior citizen]

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[bimmertl]

Radon and Cancer - National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/radon)

[senior citizen]

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