Answer to Question #4456 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

We've just tested our basement and the radon level was 3.9 pCi/L. I'm not overly concerned based on the research I've done, but should I be since our neighbors are taking action to get rid of the radon in their homes due to a 2.3 measurement. My wife and I have a two-year-old girl and we want to know how much the lung cancer risk will be reduced if we bring someone in to reduce the levels to something like 2.0?

A

My answer might be more general than you wish. Ultimately, you have to consider a variety of factors, not all of which are health-related, and use your own best judgment. There is no "correct" answer possible.

Based on your question, I assume that you recognize that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance is intended to apply to an occupied portion of the home. If the basement is unfinished, then you might want to make a measurement in a bedroom and/or family room where you spend the most time. In other words, get more data on which to base your decision. Measurements are inexpensive compared to remediation. In addition, the measurements should be long term (e.g., taken over several months). There is no rush. And I would not concern myself with what a neighbor was doing.

For reference, I suggest reading the EPA Citizen's Guide to Radon in which there are a couple of risk tables. One table is for smokers, the other is for people who have never smoked. Keeping in mind that the numbers are highly speculative, the tables suggest that reducing the concentration from 4 to 2 pCi/g would more or less cut the lung cancer risk in half. The lung cancer risk from radon that is. In the case of never-smokers the risk drops from seven in 1,000 to four in 1,000.

What I have done in my home is seal the cracks in the basement through which radon might enter and keep the windows open whenever possible. Increased ventilation will reduce the concentration of other indoor pollutants as well as radon.

Paul Frame, CHP, PhD