Blog Post

When Weatherizing Increases Radon

Air sealing and other energy retrofits in our homes can raise or lower radon levels. The only way to know is to test.

 

This blog post first appeared on GreenBuildingAdvisor.com.

We are always trying to avoid unintended consequences of our best efforts to improve home performance. A good example of this is radon gas and air tightness levels in homes during energy retrofits. How are the two levels related, and what can we do about it?

Airtightness and radon levels

There are five main factors that drive radon levels in homes:

  • radon concentrations in soil gas around the home
  • the pressure difference between the inside of the home and the soil around it
  • the air-exchange rate of the home
  • the moisture content of soil around the home (more moisture means less radon gas movement)
  • entry pathways, their number and size

When you make a home more airtight, the good news is that you could be reducing the entry pathways and reducing the pressure differential between the soil and home. The bad news is that you are also significantly reducing the air exchange rate in the home. So, what really happens?

The short answer is: it depends.

One study (“Assessment of the Effects of Weatherization on Residential Radon Levels” EPA600//SR-94/002) showed inconsistent relationships between airtightness and radon levels. In my own home, air sealing and insulating throughout the home increased radon levels in the basement significantly, but purposeful pressure management has kept living-space radon readings consistently below 3 picocuries per liter (pCi/L).

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Research was conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Energy Center of Wisconsin (ECW) on this topic in 2011, but results are not yet available. In general, if you look at the list of the five factors above and figure that energy-efficiency upgrades affect three of the five, it is not surprising that the impact on radon levels of energy upgrades may be very case-specific.

Measuring Radon Levels

Quite often you will hear that radon tests in individual homes are unnecessary because EPA radon zone maps show low levels of radon, or neighbors report low levels from testing in their own homes. Unfortunately, neither the county-level zone maps nor surrounding homes’ radon levels say much about individual homes and their radon levels.

So, with all this uncertainty, and maybe really because of it, we should be measuring radon levels in homes in which we are improving energy efficiency. You just have to test.

There are quite a few options for testing radon in homes. I like to break them down into three groups: short-term, long-term, and continuous.

  • Short-term testing is typically 2 to 7 days with either activated charcoal-based or electret ion detectors. These are relatively inexpensive tests that you can generally get at a hardware store. The advantage of this test type is that you get quick results.
  • Long-term tests tend to be 3 to12 months and are based on alpha particle tracking. Many states supply this type of test kit to homeowners. The disadvantage with this type of test is that you have to wait a long time for results.
  • Continuous electronic monitors tend to work through an ionization chamber, with readouts that give you a running average.

In general, these radon tests are pretty accurate, with least confidence in the short-term testing because radon levels can vary pretty widely over time. I have run all three types of radon tests in my own home, and I have generally found quite reasonable agreement.

Radon mitigation techniques

Radon mitigation relies on two primary approaches: depressurization under the basement or first-floor slab, or dilution. There is a great EPA table listing radon mitigation techniques, installation costs, and operating costs. In new homes, installing a passive or active system that depressurizes the slab is only about $350; but just about any of the techniques in existing homes can run into thousands of dollars.

Radon and Real Estate

This is tricky. Most states and the EPA protocol do not require radon tests as part of real estate transactions but do require notification to potential buyers if testing has been done previously. Bit of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; except that EPA has a fairly aggressive education/dissemination program to encourage radon resolution as part of real estate transactions. See the EPA “Home Buyers and Sellers Guide to Radon.”

Summary

It is certainly tempting to avoid this whole issue in the long list of tangled and vexing interactions we need to consider in green buildings.

But in the long run, do enough research and testing to eliminate the concern—or test after your work to determine what might need to be done. Most people would not think of skipping the worst-case CAZ test (which measures gas leaks and carbon monoxide from combustion appliances) because they were afraid of the cost implications of combustion safety. Think of radon testing in the same way.


Resources

Radon Resources

 

 

Published February 24, 2014

(2014, February 24). When Weatherizing Increases Radon. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/blog/when-weatherizing-increases-radon

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