Paul Finch wrote: > Jim, > > One thing, same thing about Radon gas. What happened to that, it was > supposed to kill thousands. Someone made a killing off the test kits. > Again duped by the news media.
Not really -- much of the old construction housing built before anyone tested for radon typically has a lot of leaks that mix the air pretty well in basements, with "unintentional" fresh air. New construction in areas with high radon levels typically has radon mitigation built in (air space under the foundation and a low speed circulation fan, a pipe out the roof, and an airflow monitor, usually installed in a garage or basement somewhere where the homeowner can check on the circulation fan's operation. I know of hundreds of houses in one area here that have these, as part of their original construction. The dangerous thing to do with radon is to seal up the basement of an older house in a high-radon area. (We have a lot of them here in Colorado). Many people do this to save on heating costs/etc, and raise their risk dramatically. It's an unintended consequence of sealing up the house real well for the winter and not moving air around in basements and other areas where radon gas will naturally collect if allowed to. It doesn't take much air movement to keep levels low. Nate WY0X
