02.05.07
Getting Rid of Radon
Ok, you can’t actually get rid of Radon, but you can “mitigate” it. That means you can deal with it or reduce it. In case you don’t know, Radon is a naturally occuring gas that can pretty much be found anywhere on the planet. The textbook definition says radon is an odorless, colorless gas caused by the decay of uranium. It will also say that radon may be the second leading cause of lung cancer.
The EPA has set 4 pico curries per million as a “safe” level. Right now our basement is registering 9 and the family room is greater than 5. We are embarking on an effort to deal with it. We will be attempting a D-I-Y route first. Failing that, we will certainly get professional assistance.
My first step was to get an electric radon monitor. It would be silly to keep buying $15 test kits to get an idea of whether steps we are taking are doing any good. The Radon Monitor was around $100 from radonzone.com (http://www.radonzone.com).
Because we expect to finish our basement someday we also decided to get something to seal the floor. We found radonseal from www.radonseal.com. This is a clear coating that is supposed to form a barrier for moisture and Radon. We will see what happens once we apply it. There is a lot of prep work to do first.