Radon Testing

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WHAT IS RADON GAS?

Over 21, 000 people die each year due to Radon exposure in their homes and at work. However, it is possible to avoid the health risks associated with Radon exposure by testing your home to determine if mitigation is necessary.

Certified Home Inspections is a qualified and licensed Radon Tester in Indiana

The EPA recommends contacting a licensed Radon technician from your area when you’re ready to test your home. The State of Indiana has compiled a list of qualified and licensed Radon testers from your area which are located at www.in.gov. We are also an Associate of the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST) & the National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP).

Please note: Certified Home Inspections of Valparaiso, Inc., one of the few companies in northwest Indiana to provide accurate and reliable Radon Measurement services to northwest Indiana.

Many inspectors offer radon services, but few are licensed

Most home inspection companies offer Radon testing among their list of services. However, be careful which company you choose and make sure you understand what type of equipment is being used to test for Radon in your home. Certified Home Inspections uses an active device to detect RDP’s called a Continuous Monitor, which measures working levels/month and gives a seasonal/time integrated average of the alpha particles and is more reliable and less tamper proof than most passive devices(testing without electronics or air pumps).

Long-term Radon exposure can cause lung cancer so please call us to test your home in the near future.

About our Radon Testing and inspections and reports

We test for several issues

Radon can enter any home that is built on a basement, crawl, or slab style foundation. All homeowners should test for Radon. To test for these conditions, we have made a commitment to help improve air quality and ensure more safe living conditions to property owners by following a custom quality assurance plan designed to provide tamper-proof Radon testing methods, more accurate test results, and reliable recommendations for Radon mitigation or other options.

Our tests include looking for the following elements:

• Uranium 238
• Radon
• Polonium 214 and Polonium 218

Summaries of the dangerous elements Uranium 238, Radon, Polonium 214 and Polonium 218

Uranium 238

Uranium 238 is a radioactive gas that exists in the earth’s bedrock and soil, surrounds the foundation of our homes, and will be around for 4.5 billion years(just the half-life). The word radioactive is used to describe a unit of measure within an atom that is found to have released energy as it decays causing radionuclides, aka “A Curie”. This harmful gas enters our homes through settling cracks in the foundation, utility penetrations in foundation walls, and many other various pathways.

Radon

Uranium 238 then begins to breakdown into Radon radioactive gas. Radon has a half-life of 3.8 days, and like Uranium, breaks down into other harmful decay products which are Polonium 214 and Polonium 218.

Polonium 214 and Polonium 218

The RDPs Polonium 214 and Polonium 218 are the two major causes of lung cancer/damage due to the nature of their chemical makeup. These Radon decay products produce alpha particles caused by energy given off during the decay process which can damage skin cells in our lungs.

For more information on Radon

The EPA has published the Citizens Guide to Radon and the Home Buyers/Sellers Guide to Radon in an effort to educate the public about the dangers of living with Radon in their homes. Radon can enter any home that is built on a basement, crawl, or slab style foundation and all homeowners should test for Radon.