Safeguard Home Inspectors are certified by the Department of Environmental Protection in Pennsylvania to conduct radon testing. Radon is a gas which is present in soil and rock. We inform and educate buyers about radon gas. It can move into the home through the surrounding soil, foundations and basements. It has no color, no odor and no taste. Inhaling radon gas can pose health risks. A simple test can determine the presence of radon gas. We at ASHIS Inc, conduct radon monitoring according to DEP guidelines. We use only a continuous radon monitor which actually prints an hour by hour radon level and gives an average of these readings. The continuous radon monitoring device is placed in the lowest livable area of the home. In order to accurately test for the presence of radon the monitor is left in place for a minimum time frame of forty eight hours. The monitor collects data to DEP guidelines and is then wired into a telephone line. We upload the collected data. The results of the test are emailed back to us and we forward these results onto our customers.
Radon is measured in Pico Curies per liter and any measurement above 4 pCi/L deserves serious consideration for corrective action. It is easy and economical to install and use a Subslab Depressurization System, the most common mitigation system in use today to effectively reduce elevated levels of radon gas from a home. This system uses piping and a fan to draw the air up and exhaust to the outside. These systems are 99.9% effective in removing radon from the home.
Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, according to EPA estimates. Overall, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year. About 2,900 of these deaths occur among people who have never smoked. On January 13, 2005, Dr. Richard H. Carmona, the U.S. Surgeon General, issued a national health advisory on radon. Read a study by Dr. William Field on radon-related lung cancer in women at www.cheec.uiowa.edu/misc/radon.html
Source: www.epa.gov