By Art Nash, Energy Specialist
January is National Radon Action Month, and it turns out that this past month more than 550 home radon detection kits were given out.
And those who have already tested know it is best to take air samples for measuring the concentration of radon in the colder months (thus January is the focus for outreach throughout the whole U.S.). The reason being is that concentrations are more likely to be higher the more a home is “closed up.” For those of us in Alaska, the number of months where the windows and doors are generally shut are in the majority; so testing then is fairly easy.
That isn’t to say that radon is only a problem in the winter. Even in the summer months, windows and doors may be closed during cool evenings, or if there is an abundance of wildfire smoke, and radon concentrations could still be breathed in at high concentrations for many hours of the day. And with looking at risk of cancer, it is both the duration of exposure as well as level of concentration that increases the likelihood of danger; in this case, lung cancer.
So it is important to be mindful that while winter is the best time to test for radon, summer may be the best time for mitigation if it involves putting a vent system through the basement slab (as there often is a need to dig soil out from under the slab to make room for putting the vent pipe in). Regardless of the season, testing immediately after a vent pipe is installed is wise, especially with a continuous monitor to see the trends in magnitude of radon levels.
If you just need to fill in cracks in the slab floor or missing chunks of mortar between cinderblock walls, then labor can be done any time of the year. The wisest way to keep up on the effectiveness of any kind of mitigation you have done is to try a short term (two to four day) kit as you go, from the least invasive to the most invasive step. Considering the cost is under $50 (including analysis) it can save you time that may be worth more than the kits with this step-by-step approach.
Remember too, that if you want a fairly detailed view of hourly concentration levels in your home, there are professionals who can help. Generally, these testing boxes are used prior to mitigation (but could be placed right after as well). They take enough direct samples of air, several times a minute, that you can almost map out with the graphs provided who was home when a concentration was a particular level and where the cycles of levels develop — often due to the functioning of home equipment that can affect the pressure within the home.
In any case, whether you buy a kit and test yourself or hire a professional, you are not too late to test with optimal timing as we go through February. If you are interested and haven’t tested yet or just finished with some mitigation levels and you want to recheck before expending more effort, call the Alaska Radon Hotline for assistance to fill out the online form at the Alaska Department of Natural Resources DGGS Radon webpage or call 1-800-478-8374.
Art Nash is the UAF Cooperative Extension statewide energy specialist. For questions, he can be reached at 907-474-6366 or alnashjr@alaska.edu.
