What is Radon?

Radon is present in all homes and businesses across the United States, including here in the Southwest. Though its levels vary from state to state and even county to county, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico have all shown elevated levels of indoor radon, especially around major metro areas.

As the EPA, Surgeon General, and most researchers will tell you, no level of indoor radon is safe. While many home and business owners are aware that radon is a hazard to one’s health and safety, few fully understand the full extent of the dangers posed by indoor radon exposure.

Radon – Colorless Odorless Gas

Radon is a colorless odorless gas that naturally occurs as radioactive metals such as uranium break down in rocks, soil, or water. While most radon moves up through the ground until it releases into the air and evaporates, some is absorbed into groundwater that flows beneath the surface. As such, radon levels tend to be higher in areas that are poorly ventilated or closer to the ground like basements or crawl spaces.

Radon levels are measured in picoCuries per liter of air, or pCi/L. According to the EPA, the average level of indoor radon is 1.3 pCi/L. Though there is no safe level of radon exposure, the EPA recommends home and business owners take immediate action to fix their property if indoor radon levels exceed 4 pCi/L. The EPA created a map of Radon Zones to identify counties with potential for high levels of indoor radon:

The Dangers of Radon Exposure

Radon becomes a significant threat to your health and safety when it accumulates indoors. When inhaled, the radioactive particles in radon get trapped inside your lungs. This causes severe damage to the cell-lining of your lungs. As a result, breathing in radon over long periods of time drastically increases your risk of lung cancer.

This risk is made even greater if your home or business has elevated levels of radon. In fact, next to smoking, radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States, with the EPA estimating about 21,000 deaths per year.

Protect your Home or Business from Radon

While radon is all around us, there are ways to protect your home from high levels of radon exposure and even mitigate indoor radon:

  • Radon Testing – Whether old or new, it is always advisable that you have your property tested for radon. Radon tests are a non-invasive method of determining the levels of radon in your home or business. Testing takes approximately 2-4 days with results available within in 48 hours of sample delivery.
  • Radon Mitigation – Radon mitigation involves the installation of a system that helps ventilate areas with elevated levels of radon, effectively expelling it out of your property to evaporate. The three radon mitigation systems we install are Sub-Slab Depressurization, Sub-Membrane Depressurization, and Soil Gas Collector Mats.

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Had home radon evaluation and remediation conducted. Owner Lynn was very professional and thorough with the process. Answered all our questions and found most effective and convenient location for remediation system install. Successfully got our high radon levels under the recommended levels. Highly recommend for this and any other services.

John S, Google Review

He responded immediately and set an appointment that was convenient for me. He arrived early for the appointment and started work immediately. I found his report to be very thorough and efficient with extra resource information attached.

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I would highly recommend them… incredibly thorough & professional. Their communication throughout the entire process was timely, effective & accurate. Completely happy with their overall service & would use them again in a heartbeat!

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