Radon a household danger during winter

Although radon is invisible, tasteless and odorless, experts say it is extremely dangerous and all homes should be tested for it.

"It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer," said Michael Moir, owner of the Lower Salem-based Building Inspector-Moir Home Inspection Services LLC and a licensed radon tester in Ohio and West Virginia.

January is National Radon Action Month, a time when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency encourages everyone to get their homes, schools and other buildings tested for the gas.

According to the U.S. EPA's website, www.epa.gov, radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas released in rock, soil and water from the natural decay of uranium. It can be found anywhere in a home, but is usually in basements, first-floor rooms and garages after entering through cracks and openings.

The gas causes more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the country each year - second only to smoking.

Radon has been discovered in elevated levels in homes in every state. A map of radon zones on the EPA website indicates Washington County is in zone 2, meaning it has a predicted average indoor screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter of air). The EPA's action level is 4 pCi/L, meaning this is when corrective action is needed.

Counties in zone 1, such as Muskingum County, have predicted average indoor radon screening levels greater than 4 pCi/L. None of the counties in Ohio have predicted average indoor radon screening levels less than 2 pCi/L.

Moir said every home should be tested during a real estate transaction and every three years thereafter. He said the test, which costs about $150, is usually completed over a period of 48 hours with the help of a laboratory.

"We place a monitor in the lowest possible living area of the dwelling," Moir explained. "That monitor sits there for a minimum of 48 hours and then we bring it back to the office and it uploads over the phone lines to the lab, and in a few minutes, a report is reported by the laboratory to the client."

If radon is discovered in a home, steps can be taken to correct the problem, according to the EPA. A soil suction radon reduction system is the most common fix. It is a vent pipe system and fan, which pulls radon from underneath a home and vents it to the outside.

"If there's been a mitigation (system) installed, it's recommended it be tested every two years," Moir said.