Small Town News

Check for radon, the clear, odorless radioactive gas

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Most homeowners check their houses for the visible problems: the leaky faucet, the chipping paint, the clogged gutters. But few are aware of radon a clear, odorless radioactive gas.

Radon occurs from the natural, radioactive decay of uranium or radium in soil, rock and water and can become airborne. The gas can concentrate in buildings and homes and cause adverse health effects: breathing in radioactive gas is second to smoking for causing lung cancer in people. Every year, about 10 percent of lung cancer deaths, about 20, 000 people, are attributed to radon.

Though Issaquah is not a radon hotspot, it doesn't hurt to test the radon levels inside, at least to get peace of mind, Washington Department of Health Radiation Health Physicist Mike Brennan said.

"Issaquah is not one our known high potential areas," Brennan

said. "When you get to areas where bedrock can be closer to the surface, there's a possibility that there could be higher levels" of radon.

King County has a low potential for radon, but much of Eastern Washington and Vancouver have moderate or high potential for radon.

Granite countertops, a popular surface in kitchens and bathrooms, can also give off radon, although Pat Moore, a certified industrial hygienist with the Environmental & Infrastructure Group of The Shaw Group, said the risk is low.

Now that more people are aware of the risk, many stores selling granite countertops test them for radon before selling them, he said.

Testing for radon

The two main ways of testing for radon are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased from home improvement stores or online.

The short-term test typically uses activated charcoal. The homeowner, renter or inspector should hang the kit in the lowest, commonly used room in the house.

"If you had a basement that has a family room in it, that would be

a good place," Brennan said. "But if your basement if used for storage, probably not."

The activated charcoal absorbs the gas for between two to seven days. Once the charcoal is shipped to a laboratory, technicians heat it and read the amount of radiation as it decays, Moore said.

Short-term tests usually cost less than $20. If a short-term test reveals a higher concentration of radon, residents can follow-up with a long-term test.

Long-term kits usually cost less than $50, and take at least 90 days before they can be sent to a laboratory for analysis. Many long-term kits use alpha track detectors a type of film that records particles released by the decay of radon. Once the kit is sent to the laboratory, technicians can count the tracks on the film and then compute the radon concentration.

Residents can also get a continuous radon gas monitor, but it

would probably only be needed for places of high concern and costs hundreds of dollars, Moore said.

If a house has a high concentration of radon more than 4 pic-ocuries per liter of radon homeowners can take steps to fix the problem.

"You make it harder for the radon to get in by sealing up cracks," Brennan said. "And easier for the radon to go elsewhere with pipes and fans."

He encouraged residents to test for radon there are even tests specially made for granite counter-tops. Even if their neighbors report low radon levels, everyone should test, as radon concentrations can vary from house to house.

"Testing is easy and if you don't test, you don't know about a particular house," Brennan said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext 241, or lgeggel@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress. com.



Copyright 2011 The Issaquah Press, Issaquah, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 The Issaquah Press Issaquah, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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