Radon Testing

dufresne2011

Hello all, I need some advice:

Moved into a 30 year old house in May. I got a radon test kit (little black round yokes). Left them in sitting room and bedroom (downstairs) for 3 months. Lab results came back 150 approx in sitting room and over 250 in bedroom. Just to be sure, I got a digital radon monitor to compare. Got a reading of over 400 for the sitting room and 500 for the bedroom.

Should I be worried?/Sleeping upstairs? I am getting sump works done asap but am just worried about the very high readings in the short term for myself and my partner.

Thanks.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058324736/radon-testing

Hi, the long-exposure radon tokens use a calibrated method (once returned after 3mths) to measure the low level of background radon in the home. These would be the only reliable way of measuring the long-term exposure unless you had a rather expensive specialised and fully calibrated device. Any of the devices off Amazon or the low-cost suppliers would not be capable of taking reliable measurements so their results should absolutely be ignored.

The EPA does provide information on reducing high levels which involve ventilation and such, but in reality your official readings are not excessively high at 250 Bq/m3 and while this is above the reference level of 200 Bq/m3 so you don't need to take drastic action such as moving upstairs while you wait for the remediation to complete.

https://www.epa.ie/environment-and-you/radon/fixing-a-radon-problem/

I hope this helps.

magicbastarder

out of curiosity, what part of the country do you live in? just wondering what the geology underneath you is.

Sparky2009

East Cork. The radon map is red red red!

Sparky2009

Thank you 10-10-20

magicbastarder

you mean the OP is, or you are?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427139#Comment_121427139

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427141#Comment_121427141

I dunno! LOL!

Sparky2009

Sorry, I am the OP. I keep forgetting I’m logged in as dufresne on my Mac and Sparky on my mobile. At some stage I must have had two accounts. Must delete one of them. I’m in east cork. Put the eircode into the EPA map and it’s all red but so is most of cork. Digital radon meter in bedroom is now 514 (long term average) and 809 (short term average). It can’t be right. Apparently anything over 300 in a workplace and they evacuate (I’ve read).

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427426#Comment_121427426

Out of curiosity, what is the brand and model of the meter?

Sparky2009

Airthings

stooge

We have been using an Airthings meter at home for monitoring. To be honest it really only was used for the first few months

https://www.airthings.com/products/radon

Airthings Radon products | Enable radon monitoring at home | Airthings

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427636#Comment_121427636

Very interesting. Can I ask some more questions on this...

Was the Airthings sensor placed at the same location as the radon test coupon (approx 1m off the floor, etc)? How long was the Airthings left to sample for (it's recommended for at least 30 days on the Airthings site)? Did it provide a long-term and also a short-term average and if so what were each of these? I know that the long-term averages here are the most important result as the short-term or instantaneous results do not represent the true picture due to localised disturbance and seasonal changes to radon levels.

Your other option if you want to investigate this more is to rent a calibrated meter off a supplier such as this:

https://radonireland.com/product/digital-radon-monitor/

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427639#Comment_121427639

Did you also use a long-exposure radon coupon too and if so what results did you obtain from both?

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058324736/radon-testing

what is the make up of the floors: ground and upper

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427615#Comment_121427615

I've one of these great piece of kits allows you to log long term and graph everything or export to excel.

https://www.radonshop.com/index.php?a=730&bewertung_anzeigen=1

Not cheap however

stooge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121427777#Comment_121427777

No, just the Airthings product and App. It monitors continously the Radon, particulate and CO2

View Plus - smart indoor air quality monitor | Airthings

Sparky2009

So I’m putting the digital detector in exactly the same places as I did the long exposure ones (charcoal I think). As an example, the charcoal ones gave a final lab test reading of approx 250 in the bedroom after 3 months. The digital one in the same place is currently reading 514 long term and 855 short term. The instructions say leave them for 72 hours at least so I’m leaving it for 3 days in each location. Flooring is laminate wood over concrete.

Sparky2009

Thanks for all the responses so far

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121428531#Comment_121428531

It would help if you also answered the questions

am out of here

listermint

I'd consider a long test 4 weeks not 72 hours tbh. Readings are impacted by weather conditions. So you can't establish a proper median within such a short space of time.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121428507#Comment_121428507

Best leave it in one position for 30 days at least.

https://help.airthings.com/en/articles/3119887-radon-how-to-respond-to-your-radon-levels

I'm just surprised that the two tests have such a difference, but as I mentioned, some of this could be seasonality related. We have to remember that the tests are not equal, one is a long-term average and the other is very much a short-term test. The ventilation around the time of the long-term test may have been different if it was carried out over a Summer period too.

Sparky2009

Yes long term tests were done during the summer. I’m surprised myself that there’s THAT much of a discrepancy. Thanks for the responses. It’s incredibly difficult to get solid advice on this online (after hours of searching). Here’s hoping I don’t get the old lung cancer

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121429065#Comment_121429065

I did note that the Airthings website has some very good documentation on the matter, much better than a lot of other documentation that I have seen. I think you had seen some of them already:

https://help.airthings.com/en/articles/3119750-radon-levels-swing-spike-or-change-wildly-is-this-normal

https://help.airthings.com/en/articles/3727185-i-have-2-monitors-beside-each-other-and-they-show-different-radon-values-how-is-that-possible

etc.

Sparky2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121429147#Comment_121429147

I did see those yes. They do a fairly comprehensive take down of charcoal kits but then they’re bias so hard to know. As a layman I’m also not interested in their distinction between precision and accuracy. Having said that, it would appear that I need to leave the detector for a much longer time to get anything nearing a true measurement and it also seems that there are many variables that can affect results. Every days a school day. Again thanks 10-10-20 for your time and responses.

listermint

Solid advice is that the radon results tend to be higher at night. They are less in summer due to ventilation. More in winter again due to ventilation and are most definitely impacted by barometric pressure and weather.

With all these variables at play longer term tests are most accurate to determine averages of a room or dwelling. Testing the places you spend most time in the house is best practice. Tests should be ideally away from a wall vent and roughly 3/4 height of room. Shelf or top of a picture frame.

Solving Radon issues come down to sealing floors and floor to wall junctions. Sumps and in some case sumps and sump fans. Ventilation e.g MHRV can all play into reducing radon values.

Remember it's an entire building process not just the rooms you've done readings in.

Sparky2009

God. This stuff should be taught in schools. Thanks Listermint.

FlipperThePriest

We moved into an older house 5 years ago in an area of high radon levels. I got the testing kit in from a reputable lab.. 2 sensors in separate rooms in the recommended positions for 3 months. After 3 months the results came back radon levels well over the accepted limit, maybe close to double what's acceptable, can't remember exactly, maybe not just this high, but well over. It was recommended we get a sump put in, a solution at the time that was costing around €1,000.

Before going with that, I decided to change the ventilation strategy from purge (opening windows in the mornings and evenings) to 24hr background ventilation and tested again for another 3 months. Came back the second time well under the acceptable limit, no further recommendation. So more adequate ventilation could well solve high levels.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121461269#Comment_121461269

A change to the ventilation strategy can and it might reduce it, but the radon sump method is a whole-house solution and will remain operational even when another householder decides to change the ventilation due to the cold/cost etc or decides to isolate a room. Don't overlook that the gas permeates into the living space through cracks or holes in the underlying slab. So it's generally better to go for the whole-house solution under the slab rather than still allowing the gas into the living space.

FlipperThePriest

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121461332#Comment_121461332

True, but if you are someone who has a radon issue being exacerbated by lack of ventilation and can be solved by a permanent background ventilation solution, then you likely have more air quality issues in your home than just radon. So in that case, if I had €1,000 euro to spend on either a permanent ventilation solution or radon sump, I'd be going with the ventilation.