Yes, You Need Radon Testing, Colorado Springs

One of the largest economic resources in the State of Colorado are vast stores of minerals contained in our soils and rocky terrain. From gemstones to coal, Colorado has a wide array of different minerals and elements throughout the state, and many of those have their own challenges when they are mined, dug, drilled, or otherwise removed from the earth. One of the challenges that Colorado has to deal with more than most places in the U.S. is radon gas, thanks to the many radioactive elements that occur in our rock and soil. Radon is a natural result of radioactive decay of those elements, most often uranium and radium, both prevalent in the Colorado stone makeup.  Being a gas, it works its way through the rock and soil to the point of least resistance, meaning if there are air spaces, pockets, disturbed soil, the hardpan or caliche is broken or disturbed, it allows the gas to escape. Radon loves to find pilings, footers, wells drilled, bulldozed and scraped rock and gravel with the soil taken off, anywhere it can work its way to the surface. 

Radon is heavier than most of the gases that make up air, and is present in very tiny amounts as a component of the air we breath. Being heavier, though, means radon likes to collect and pool and sort of sit in places it is undisturbed, gathering in pockets of heavy gas that collected in quantity are not safe for consumption. Radon is a proven cause of lung cancer, and a serious one. Many of the places that radon finds to creep its way to the surface are where raw land has been prepped for construction, allowing the gas to rise around foundations and footers and collect in the still air inside a foundation under flooring, in crawl spaces, walls that have vents through to the subflooring or under a house for ducting or conduit, and other places it can sit and permeate your home for years when left undisturbed and not ventilated. 

Colorado Has the Highest Levels of Radon, Colorado Springs

Colorado has the highest levels of radon gas overall in tested structures in all counties of the state of any state in the US. This means that Coloradans have the most need to make sure their home is tested for radon and that they can get ventilation and other removal systems put into place to take care of the pooled gas. Radon when breathed breaks down into radioactive particles, or radionuclides, that settle in your lungs. Most often breathed in, radon also occurs in water supplies where there is a high concentration of radon gas in the soil. While major water systems do test for radon in Colorado, private systems are not required to go through the water testing procedure. If you have a child in a school on a small municipal system, the water most likely is not tested. If you have a home in a gas or oil rig area, or if your home has tested high for presence of radon and you are on a well, you need to have your well water tested. Radon will readily absorb in water and is expressed when water mixes with air during a shower or running the tub. Expert, certified testing for radon in your home and water is important for the long term health of your family, as most radon exposure takes up to 15 years to manifest as lung cancer. 

Certified Radon Testing Colorado Springs CO Can Rely on For Accuracy

While there are kits sold in big box stores and online for radon testing, home testing from a DIY kit is really not a good way to verify the radon levels in your home. Radon testing needs to be done over a period of time to accurately assess the particulate fallout rates, with specific placement of testing plates at certain levels of “living” height, as well as in particular types of air flow, to give a really true reading. Colorado requires certification for radon testing because of the exact and slightly difficult nature of getting accurate answers to tests. 

Axios Home Inspections has been certified by the State of Colorado for many years for radon testing. We are locally owned and operated out of the Colorado Springs area, and have years of experience in all areas of home inspection. We know that radon can be abated relatively easily, and it is not extremely expensive to take care of the problem. You have to know you have a problem, though, and also need to retest at intervals to make certain that the radon issue has been averted with home modifications. It is also important to retest after major land moving or remodeling that changes any area the radon could have been pooled, or creating new opportunities for it to creep up and settle. Radon testing is very reasonable. Call us or send in our contact form and we will get right back to you to set up a time to come out and give you a free estimate for testing your property. The peace of mind is worth the low cost of knowing your family and pets are safe. 

Axios Home Inspections