Proper Radon Testing Guidelines
Is your testing service conducting your radon screening correctly?
Many homebuyers as part of their home inspection have a radon test screening performed on their new home. The test is most often done by the home inspector and begun during the home inspection. The testing device is left in the home for a minimum of 48 hours and then picked up and usually, although not always, sent to a laboratory for analysis. The lab or testing service provides a report with the level of radon expressed in picocuries per liter, pCi/l. If a level of 4.0 pCi/l or greater is found, it is recommended that the home have a radon reducing mitigation system installed.
Sounds like a simple process, right? Unfortunately very often the test is done incorrectly because the testing service did not follow long established US Environmental Protection Agency radon testing protocols from the publication Protocols for Radon and Radon Decay Product Measurements in Homes designed specifically for real estate transactions. Additionally as of October 2006, the State of Connecticut is requesting that all individuals performing radon testing take eight hours of State approved training.
So what should the radon testing service performing your test be doing to ensure correct and accurate results? Here are some basic guidelines to help you get a good and precise test.
The radon testing service should:
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Inform the current homeowner, occupant or responsible individual of the required closed building and other test conditions and present them a test non-interference agreement to sign before the radon test begins.
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Confirm upon arriving at home that the proper test conditions are in place.
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Use the correct type of radon testing device as defined under testing options.
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Discuss with the customer their planned use of the home and place the devices accordingly.
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Determine and place the device in a proper testing location as defined under measurement location.
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Take precautions to ensure test non-interference.
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Test the water for radon if the home has a private well.
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MOST IMPORTANTLY: The technician who placed the device is the person who retrieves the test and confirms, as much as reasonably possible, that the test conditions were maintained and the testing device was not tampered with. This is a vitally important criterion. Often the client or their Realtor is given the job of retrieving the test. This is an extremely bad procedural error and eliminates all responsibility for the test from the testing service. The EPA protocols clearly refer to the tester as the individual procedurally responsible for all aspects of the radon test, start to finish. Continuity is vitally important to ensure reliability of the test and results.
Another important consideration is the type of testing device. Not all radon detectors are the alike. There are generally two types; passive and active. Read here about differences in radon detection devices.
