What Is Radon Gas, Radon Detection Test Kits, Radon Mitigation, Radon Home Inspection, Radon Detector Gas Testing

What is radon gas ? Radon gas is a lethal radioactive gas which presents long term health problems, ultimately killing the residents of a home or factory and office workers. Radon gas is a natural by-product of deteriorating uranium or thorium. This radioactive gas is tasteless, odorless, and colorless, which makes it a very dangerous element to have leaking into a home.

Thorium and natural uranium were created as the world was formed, billions of years ago, and will continue to deteriorate for billions of more years, producing high quantities of this lethal gas. There are no areas of the globe where radon gas is confined to, it can materialize in any building and has been detected in certain hot springs and spring waters.

Approximately 21,000 cases of lung cancer per year, are diagnosed in the United States Of America alone due to Radon gas poisoning. This makes radon gas the second highest cancer causing element after smoking cigarettes. Radon gas is a slow acting killer, which can accumulate to extremely dangerous levels in buildings with little ventilation.

Radon gas is classed as a heavy gas, and can actually appear to be phosphorus as it forms into a condensation, literally glowing to a yellow-orange-red because of the radiation it contains. This is in areas where the density of the gas is highly concentrated, and may cause severe internal caner growths over a shorter period of time.

Radon test kits are cheap yet very effective at detecting the levels of radon gas in any given building or area. Before any type of radon mitigation is undertaken, a test kit is essential to discover if there are any radon gas emissions, and if so, to what level. Home use radon gas detection kits are simple to use, but could save the lives of residents or factory workers.

Detecting radon gas is only the tip of the iceberg. If the radioactive gas has been detected in your home, the level indicator on the radon home test kit will reveal the amount of gas which you are breathing in on a daily basis. After this, it is up to the home owner as to what precautions to undertake to reduce or to eliminate the amount of gas entering the home.

Local governing bodies may offer free radon home inspections to deter if your home has radon gas in it. These are simple inspection tests using some of the test kits indicated on the right to determine if radon is present and to what extent.

Most local government bodies do not provide this service, but there is no harm in finding out if they do. The waiting list for a radon inspection may be some time, so purchasing a cheap radon testing kit may be a quicker solution.

Radon gas detection companies offer this service but at a cost. Then will offer mitigation solutions to inhibit the influx of this deadly gas. This is a wise investment. If mitigation for radon gas is carried pout professionally, then there should be no future increase in the build up of gas, but either a lower level or none at all in the home. This is tantamount to avoiding lung cancer which kills.

Radon gas mitigation is when the gas is limited or stopped from entering the home, or, when the gas levels are reduced through allowing the gas to escape, greatly reducing the risk of contracting lung cancer through radon gas.

Soil Mitigation

This is when a series of pipes are laid under the soil to various depths. The pipes lead away from the building allowing the gas to disperse into the air.

Pressurization

This mitigation uses a fan to created pressure within an area and reduce the amount of radon entering the home.

Sealing

By sealing all the cracks and holes in the basement walls and floors or the foundations of a building, the limit of radon gas flow into a property can be greatly reduced. But this will not stop all the gas from entering.

Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV )

Used mainly in basements to remove the radon gas. This systems is expensive to run and will increase the energy consumption of the home.

To remove, expel or reduce the build up of radon gas in any building, ventilation is the key. By simply adding air brick, vents and even windows to basements and other parts of the home, will reduce the build up potential of radon gas. Use a detector kit prior to, and after radon mitigation procedures have been undertaken. This way a person can instantly tell if the mitigation steps have worked and to what degree.