As a homeowner, keeping your family safe means protecting them from hazards you can’t always see. One of the most common and overlooked indoor threats is radon gas. Many homeowners ask the same question: why do homes have high radon levels, and what causes radon to build up indoors?
Radon levels can vary widely from one home to another. Location, construction style, and environmental conditions all play a role. Understanding why high radon levels in homes occur is the first step toward reducing exposure and protecting your indoor air quality.
What is radon?
When a person breathes in radon gas, their lungs are exposed to small amounts of radiation that can significantly damage their cells and even lead to various types of cancer. Though it may be surprising, radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, with smoking as the leading cause. While radon poses a serious threat to homeowners and their families, the good news is that it can be identified and controlled with regular radon testing and radon mitigation.
In order to limit the threat of radon in your home, it’s important to understand exactly what it is and where it comes from. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that is both colorless and odorless.
Outdoors, radon disperses quickly into the atmosphere and causes minimal health issues. However, radon can enter into homes through cracks in the foundation, sump pumps, plumbing fixtures, and other entry points where it can accumulate to dangerous levels. When trapped inside, it can lead to a host of medical issues, particularly when the individuals have been exposed to radon for many years. Learn about lung cancer survivor Leah Phillips’ story and how she believes her lung cancer was caused by radon exposure at home.
Do all homes have a high radon concentration?
As mentioned above, radon generally does not create any problems in its gaseous form outdoors, since it dissipates rapidly into the atmosphere. However, when contained in buildings such as homes, schools or hospitals, for example, it can become highly dangerous for those inside the building. The risks associated with breathing in elevated radon levels only increases over time, which is why it is so important to keep the levels in your home in check.
So how can you tell if your home has a high level of radon? In most cases, homes contain at least a small amount of radon, even when a radon mitigation system is already in place. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1 out of every 15 homes in the United States has elevated radon levels. The average indoor radon concentration typically falls between 1–3 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), but some homes measure significantly higher levels, sometimes exceeding 100 pCi/L.
If a radon test shows a concentration of 4.0 pCi/L or higher, the EPA recommends taking action. A professionally designed and installed radon mitigation system can reduce indoor radon levels by up to 99%, helping protect occupants from long-term exposure.
In order to reduce radon levels in homes, more and more builders are adopting radon-resistant new construction techniques to protect residents’ health and safety. However, even if your home has been built using radon-resistant techniques, it’s still essential to test the home for radon upon moving in. Learn more about activating a passive radon mitigation system.
Why do homes have a high level of radon concentration?
Some homes have high levels of radon because the gas can enter buildings in multiple ways and become trapped indoors. Any home or building can be affected, regardless of age or location. Factors such as soil composition, local geology, weather patterns, ventilation, and the structure of the home all play a role in determining indoor radon levels.
How Radon Enters the Home
While it is not unusual for a home to contain some level of radon, higher concentrations are largely driven by environmental and structural conditions. Radon is produced by the natural decay of uranium, which is found in varying amounts in nearly all types of soil. As uranium breaks down, it releases radon gas, which moves upward through the soil and enters homes through any available openings.
Common entry points include:
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Cracks in concrete floors or foundations
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Construction joints
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Gaps around service pipes and utility penetrations
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Sump pits and floor drains
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Crawl spaces and unfinished basements
Once inside, radon can accumulate, especially in lower levels of the home where ventilation is limited. Over time, prolonged exposure to elevated radon levels increases health risks for occupants.
Radon From Water Supply
The second most common contributing source for high radon levels– after soil gas – is water supply. Although it is less likely that radon will enter your home through the water supply than through soil, it is still a possibility that should be taken seriously. For example, well water can contain radon, which can be a health risk for residents when they breathe in the radioactive gas that’s released into the air during showers, running the sink, or even doing the dishes. Drinking water containing radon can also lead to cases of stomach cancer. It’s always a good idea to test your water for the presence of radon, especially if you source your water from a private well. If you have a radon mitigation system and are still seeing elevated radon levels, it’s time to have your water tested as it could be the source of radon in your home.
Radon can also enter a home through the decay of construction materials such as brick, marble and granite, but this is a much less common point of entry than through soil gas or water supplies.
Is Radon in Old Homes More Common?
Although this is not always the case, radon in old homes is typically higher than in newly built ones.
The key factors that influence radon levels—such as cracks in the foundation, gaps around pipes, and poor ventilation—tend to be more pronounced in older homes, which may not have been built with radon-resistant materials or techniques.
However, many new homes are more energy efficient, which can seal in heating and cooling, but the radon gas as well. Regardless of your home’s age it is important to test! A radon test is the only way to know if you are being exposed to this radioactive gas.
Here’s a quick breakdown why an older home might have high radon levels:
Foundation Integrity
Over time, foundations can develop cracks or structural weaknesses that allow radon gas to seep in from the surrounding soil. These entry points are common in homes built without modern radon-resistant construction techniques and may worsen as a home settles or ages.
Building Materials
Older homes may include materials such as stone or brick that naturally emit trace amounts of radon. While this source is generally less significant than soil gas intrusion, it can contribute to higher overall radon concentrations when combined with other factors.
Geographical Factors
The surrounding soil and geography can influence radon levels. While age can be a factor, homes built in high-radon areas are at greater risk regardless of age.
Newly constructed homes often use radon-resistant building techniques, such as radon barriers and enhanced ventilation, to help mitigate radon risk. However, even modern homes are not immune to radon issues, so regular testing is recommended for all buildings.
Concerned about your home's radon levels?
How to Take Action:
Because radon has no odor or color to indicate its presence in your home, it is crucial to regularly test your home for high radon concentrations. This is the only way to ensure that you and your family are not inhaling or consuming dangerous amounts of radon, either through the air or water supply. As previously mentioned, when radon accumulates in a home, residents could be unknowingly inhaling the radioactive gas, which can then damage the cells in their lungs and lead to lung cancer. Though less common, when consumed in water, it can lead to serious health issues such as stomach cancer and can even contribute to radon levels in the air.
Hiring an experienced radon contractor to test your home’s radon concentration is the first step to maintaining a safe and healthy home. Not only will our radon experts determine your home’s current radon concentration, we will also help you decide what mitigation measures should be taken to reduce your home’s radon level. If you haven’t tested your home for radon recently, or you’re about to move into a new home, contact a professional for an inspection.
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Professional radon testing is the first step to making your home a safe place to breathe.
Strategies to reduce your risk of radon exposure at home
If you are concerned about your home’s radon concentration, time is of the essence. Because radon can be a danger to residents’ health, it’s important to not put off reducing your radon levels. Start by contacting a certified radon company (find your local Protect Environmental professionals) for help in understanding the radon concentration in your home.
If your radon test reveals elevated radon concentrations, work with certified professionals to install a radon mitigation system to reduce the levels in your home.
How often should you test your home for radon?
Although it may be easy to overlook or postpone, radon testing should be a top priority for all homeowners and be included in your routine home maintenance checklist. After all, the more vigilant you are about reducing radioactive radon gas in your home, the safer your indoor air will be. That being said, how often should you test your home’s radon concentration? If you already have a radon mitigation system installed in your home, you should continue to have your home tested every two years and your system inspected every year to ensure that it continues to function as designed.
Protect yourself and your family from radon concentration
If you’re asking, why do homes have high radon concentrations, then you’ll also want to know how to fix it.
Colorless and odorless, radon is a radioactive gas that can accumulate in homes and cause serious health problems for residents. Although most homes contain some level of radon, it is crucial to perform regular radon testing in order to know for sure what your levels are. Radon concentrations above the EPA action level (4.0 pCi/L), radon lead to significant health issues for residents. To reduce this risk, a radon professional can test your home’s radon levels and recommend a mitigation system if necessary. Radon mitigation experts will work with you to reduce the radon levels in your home for a more healthy and safe place to breathe.
Radon danger for children
A case study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded that due to lung shape and size differences, children have an increased risk and a higher estimated radiation dose when exposed to the same radon levels compared to adults. Children breathe in deeper, faster, and proportionately more air than adults. Their lungs are developing faster, making them more sensitive to the effects of indoor air quality. Since effects of radiation take years to develop, individuals exposed to elevated levels of radon in their youth are more likely to develop radon-related illnesses later in life. Contact a radon professional today.
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Sources:
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- “What Is Radon Gas? Is It Dangerous?” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/radiation/what-radon-gas-it-dangerous
- A Citizen’s Guide to Radon The Guide to Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Radon. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-02/documents/2012_a_citizens_guide_to_radon.pdf
- Case Studies In Environmental Medicine, https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/radon/radon.pdf
- US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Toxicity of Radon, accessed January 4, 2022.
