FAQs
- What types of customers have you worked with?
What is Radon??? Radon is a type of radiation. It comes from uranium and radium in soils, which can be found everywhere in the world. Uranium is present in rocks such as granite, shale, phosphate and pitchblende. Uranium breaks down to radium, which then decays into radon. This gas can easily move up through the soil into the atmosphere. Natural deposits of uranium and radium, not man-made sources, produce most of the radon present in the air. Radon is in the soil and air everywhere in varying amounts. People cant see, taste, or smell radon. Theres no way to sense the presence of radon. Radon levels are commonly expressed in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), where a picocurie is a measure of radioactivity. The national average of indoor radon levels in homes is about 1.3 pCi/L. Radon levels outdoors, where radon is diluted, average about 0.4 pCi/L. Radon in the soil can be drawn into a building and can accumulate to high levels. Every building or home has the potential for elevated levels of radon. All homes should be tested for radon, even those built with radon-resistant features. EPA recommends taking action to reduce indoor radon levels when levels are 4 pCi/L or higher. Portland High Efficiency Radon Mitigation can reduce any high radon level to UNDER EPA standards. Go to www.Portlandhighefficiency.com to learn more.
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
What Can You Do To Reduce Radon In New Homes??? You can easily draw radon away and help prevent radon from entering the home by with the following basic steps. Can we keep radon out by sealing the cracks? Sealing large cracks and openings is important to do when you build a home, both in the lower portion of the home to reduce radon entry points, and in the upper portion of the home to reduce stack effect. However, field research has shown that attempting to seal all of the openings in a foundation is both impractical and ineffective as a stand-alone technique. Radon can enter through very small cracks and openings. These small cracks and openings are too small to locate and effectively seal. Even if all cracks could be sealed during construction, which would be costly, building settlement may cause new cracks to occur. Therefore, sealing large cracks and openings is one of the key components of radon-resistant construction, but not the only technique that should be employed. You may already be employing many of these techniques in the homes that you build. All of the techniques have additional benefits associated with them and they are very easy to install. Install a sub-slab (or sub-membrane) depressurization system The objective of these systems is to create a vacuum beneath the foundation which is greater in strength than the vacuum applied to the soil by the house itself. The soil gases that are collected beneath the home are piped to a safe location to be vented directly outside. Use mechanical barriers to soil gas entry Plastic sheeting and foundation sealing and caulking can serve as barriers to radon entry, entry of other soil gases, and moisture. Reduce stack effect Sealing and caulking reduce stack effect, and thus reduce the negative pressure in lower levels in the home. Install air distribution systems so that soil air is not “mined” Air-handling units and all ducts in basements and, especially, in crawlspaces should be sealed to prevent air, and radon, from being drawn into the system. Seamless ducts are preferred for runs through crawlspaces or beneath slabs. Any seams or joints in ducts should be sealed. Go to www.Portlandhighefficiency.com to learn more.