Radon in an older home

[newberryw1]

Hi all,

I am living in a finished basement apartment with my toddler and infant while we remodel our upstairs living areas over the next couple years.

TLDR is I don’t know how dangerous it actually is to have young kids exposed to any given level of radon for any amount of time, and I don’t know how to proceed with our living situation.

I’ve been monitoring our radon levels over the course of several months, and as it gets colder, I’m starting to see levels up to 5 pCi/L. It will likely go higher once the ground freezes. The EPA guidance is 4pCi/L action level but other countries are different.

I had a radon mitigation expert come out and he said he could put a system in, but it is not guaranteed to make a significant difference because of how old our foundation is. House is 120 years old and foundation looks like it was repoured in the 60s. It does not have crushed gravel under it that will allow air to permeate it. It’s likely just sitting on clay. There are several areas that aren’t completely sealed to the dirt below (within walls, under bath tub, etc) and will be difficult to get a proper seal without major demo. Basically without a proper seal, a mitigation system can’t pull proper vacuum for a guaranteed fix.

Looking for data and recommendations on how to proceed.

Do we take a financial hit and move out because no level of radon risk is worth it with such young kids?

Do we install the system and just hope for even a tiny improvement?

Is the EPA guidance arbitrary and the risk of radon overblown?

I’m looking for help making a data driven decision.

Thank you!

 

[memorybible]

@newberryw1 I would take the small steps first. Install the offered mitigation system and keep monitoring levels. Hopefully that will solve it. If not... there are other options for mitigating than requiring near-vacuum/seal.

Radon guidance levels are not overblown.

 

[nmeckert]

@newberryw1 Our house is 97 years old and the radon mitigation system we have installed works beautifully. The cost was reasonable (maybe 2,000 a few years ago?) and it's given us peace of mind. I would definitely look into having one installed even if there are concerns about absolute efficacy.

 

[elderpaul]

@newberryw1 Call a few companies, most should be able to guarantee a result below 4 and most will try for under 2.. May require multiple vents but should be able to easily achieve.. then if you remodel/finish your basement again, or alter anything down there test again.. winter will bring the highest levels especially when wind picks up.. but ur levels are not extreme.. I’ve seen over 30 pci/l dealt with.. but do it.. I’d guess under 4k, atleast in the PNW in a high cost of living area

 

[continualseeker]

@newberryw1 If you sell without remediation, you will probably have to fill out a checklist for the new buyer that asked you about radon. You may have the option to make no representation. The buyer may do their own test.

At least there is a checklist in my state. Not sure every state requires one.

 

[sandra142]

@newberryw1 I bought a radon detector, an air things detector

My long term average is 1.89 in our basement

1 day average is 1.27, 7 day is 2.24

I’m basically on the bubble where I could seek remediation but it’s not necessarily needed immediately right?

We have a 2 month old but she lives upstairs and is never (for now) in our finished basement / guest room

 

[debii88]

@newberryw1 We had a radon mitigation system installed. Our levels were was in the 30's. It cost $2300 a couple years ago and works great. I'd say contact several companies; ours had a guarantee on how low they'd get it, though I don't recall specifics. They drilled right down through the concrete in our basement. I'm really happy we took care of it.