Radon Testing

Radon is a natural, radioactive noble gas that is present in soil, water and indoor and outdoor air. The gas is odorless, colorless and tasteless, which makes it difficult to readily identify – even when high concentrations exist in a particular environment.

When breathed into the lungs, radon may damage cells, which can potentially mutate into cancerous cells.  Whether a home or building is new or old does not necessarily affect the level of radon. Both new construction and older homes & businesses that have undergone energy efficiency upgrades are potentially susceptible to higher levels of radon because they are more ‘air-tight’.

According to the EPA, radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and the leading cause among non-smokers.

H & H Inspection Services has extensive training and expertise in reading and interpreting the reports from the testing for the presence of radon gas. We recommend long term testing whenever possible, as it provides the most accurate representation of your average levels of radon. A long-term test result is more likely to tell you your home’s year-round average radon level than a short-term test.  Short terms tests are also very useful when under time constraints (a real estate transaction, for example), but it is important to understand that the results only indicated whether radon levels are elevated, not when they are low.

Radon is measured in pico Curies per liter (pCi/L)

While no level of radon is considered ‘safe’, no further action is recommended for results below 2.0 pCi/L except periodic testing.