We have sold quite a few homes in the past 15 years in the metropolitan Atlanta area. In recent years, we have come across more homes that have come up with high levels of the gas Radon during their inspections.
According to The UGA Consumer Sciences web site, radon is an odorless and colorless gas that can cause lung cancer. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US behind smoking and smokers have a higher susceptibility to lung cancer if they have radon. I am writing this to help educate you on the danger that Radon poses. Radon is underground and is formed in underground veins that could also run under your house. This may sound a bit alarming, but radon is very easy to test for and fix. You can hire a home inspector or radon company to come out and put a testing machine in your home for 3 days to check digitally. The test typically runs around $200.
If you have high levels or Radon, nationally the benchmark is 4.0pCi/L it is receommended to mitigate. Mitigation is the term used for getting the gas out of the house. It is a fairly easy process where a company installs a vacuum fan, drills a few holes in the foundation to get below the foundation and draw out the radon gas. The gas is released at the top of your house and into the open air. In the open air it is not a threat but the gas is dangerous and proven to cause cancer when trapped in a house. Mitigation will usually run around $1,500-$2,000 and can be done in a few days.
Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have and I can also put you in touch with inspectors and mitigation companies to discuss your home and the steps needed if you would like to test for Radon.
Warm Regards,
John and Natalie Lewis
The Lewis-Safford Group