Friends/Clients/Locals,
I recently encouraged a client of mine to test for radon in
the house they are buying in Crowley Lake and it came back with high levels of
radon. In doing more research, I found that few people know about radon,
so I am writing to let you know what I have learned and to encourage you to
test your home and workplace.
RADON:
- According to the California Dept of Public Health, radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer (behind smoking). See chart below.
- “Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is odorless, invisible, and without taste. It is released during the natural decay of uranium, which is present in most rock, soil and water. Its occurrence in the state is influenced primarily by geology.”
- “The average indoor radon level is estimated to be about 1.3 pCi/L (pico Curies per Liter of air), and about 0.4 pCi/L of radon is normally found in the outside air.”
- If your home/office has higher than the “action level” of 4 pCi/L, the EPA recommends doing a second test and averaging the two results. If still above 4 pCi/L, they recommend doing mitigation.
- Lots of more info at the EPA's website.
FREE TEST KITS: Mono County is one of a few counties
for which the state is offering free radon test kits to property owners. Go to
the Mono County Health Dept (above Giovanni’s) and pick up a free kit.
They just received a shipment of 100 kits. The kits are a tray of
charcoal that you let sit for 48 hours (follow directions carefully!) and then
mail in to a lab. Please direct questions to: Louis Molina, Environmental
Health Director, Mono County Health Department, (760) 924-1845, lmolina@mono.ca.gov.
RADON CONTRACTOR: If you want a radon
contractor to do a more detailed test or to have your home fixed if you have
high levels of radon, Greg Enright is the only local Certified Radon Tester and
Mitigator: greg@gregenrightconstruction.com
and (760) 937-2287.
MITIGATION: Mitigation for homes with crawl spaces
usually involves covering the dirt in the crawl space with plastic, then
ventilating the captured air up a pipe and out through the roof. This
website has more info.
This method is supposedly effective. Cost for standard installation is
approx. $1,800 + $1/sqft of crawl space for materials, fan, electrical, permit,
etc. So, for a standard 2,000 sqft 2-story house with 1,000 sqft of crawl
space, the cost would be approx. $2,800. You should consult with a
contractor for a detailed quote for your home.
LOCAL EXAMPLES: According to the California Dept of Public Health, as of May 2010, 32 radon tests had been done in the 93546 zip code (Mammoth Lakes + Crowley Lake) and 10 of them (31%) resulted in radon levels above 4 pCi/L. In Bishop, out of 111 tests, 39 (35%) had come back high. According to local experts, Crowley
Lake and West Bishop have shown higher than average levels of radon. But, one house
might have high levels and the house next door might have low levels.
There is not a lot of data for our local area, so I am encouraging everyone to
test for radon and share results with me or the Mono Co. Health Dept.
Also, the labs that analyze the free test kits also enter the data into an
anonymous database.
SHARING DATA: If you are willing to share your
results with me, I will start a database and share aggregate results with
you. When sharing your results with me, please tell me your address, date
of test, results of your test, and if you are willing to share your results
with others. I will only share the results by neighborhood, not by
specific addresses (to protect privacy).
I strongly encourage all local residents and homeowners to
test for radon in their homes and work places and share results so that we can
protect our community!
Disclaimer: I am far from a radon expert. Please consult the
websites listed in my blog for more information.
Please get your free test kit today and please share this blog with friends and coworkers. Thank you!
-Dennis