electronic consumer radon detector between different locations of your home. Opening windows more often on hot days may prove helpful. If readings are consistently high, you may wish to explore means of sealing cracks in your slab or foundation should they be accessible. Similarly, are through-holes for sumps or piping well sealed? In the case of consistently elevated readings, it may be wise to bring in a radon mitigation professional, who may recommend installing a 24-hour fan to duct basement or crawl space air above your roofline. Such work may run $2,000 or so. The installation of an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) may be even lower cost. (However, if you elect not to remediate, do quit smoking, since together the outcomes of both exposures are worse than individually.)
The beauty of having a consumer electronic radon measurement device is that a sequence of steps may be explored in determining whether progressive levels of expenditure are necessary. Whatever the expenditure may be, avoiding the chances of serious health issues may be well worth the peace of mind.
Ecosense, Inc.: Solely Dedicated to Radon Measurement Technology
Ecosense, Inc. (San Jose, CA) [Ref. 8] stands by to assist with our“RadonEye”, a near real time and accurate consumer product for the continuous measurement of radon. It has been well received throughout in North America and South Korea (another of the world’s “hot spots”) with nearly 50,000 of these devices sold. Just as found in our professional model for home inspectors and remediators, the RadonEye uses the same radon detection technology, a pulsed ion chamber read by super-sensitive U.S.-patented analog measurement electronics capable of an industry leading 30 counts per hour per pico-Curie per liter count rate. The approach used is very fast, updating readings every 10 minutes and achieving +/- 10% of the final average value within one hour of set-up. The technology is very accurate and in academic studies has compared favorably to the RAD7 by Durridge, Inc. and the AlphaGuard by Saphymo, Inc., both bench-mark professional monitors priced at several thousand dollars. [Ref. 9] Ecosense has introduced the RadonEye consumer product at $179. It is available via our website and on Amazon.
The RadonEye is easily set up using Bluetooth communications to your smart-phone. Either an Android or iOS smartphone is fine. The appropriate RadonEye app may be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Because the device is so fast, the unit may be moved around a home every 30 to 40 minutes to determine the areas with the highest radon levels. The built-in OLED display shows the last measurement taken and continuously scrolls through averages determined over longer periods of time.
The RadonEye is easily set up using Bluetooth communications to your smartphone. Either an Android or iOS smartphone is fine. The appropriate RadonEye app may be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Because the device is so fast, the unit may be moved around a home every 30 to 40 minutes to determine the areas with the highest radon levels. The built-in OLED display shows the last measurement taken and continuously scrolls through averages determined over longer periods of time. The data may also be
- accessed through the RadonEye app, which synchs the RadonEye’s locally stored data to your phone and constructs graphic displays of radon levels over time. Once the most meaningful area of your home is identified, the device can be left to continuously monitor and construct a graphic seasonal profile.
Have the conversation!
If the physician does not ask about whether the patient’s home has been tested, we suggest the patient initiates the conversation. How does your doctor view the importance of testing? There are many resources a doctor can “prescribe” to help with a patient’s decisions on the testing of their home: for instance, the EPA has compiled a convenient guide to state-by-state resources on radon. [Ref. 5] The general practitioner is also critical to the tax-efficient financing of any needed corrective actions. Perhaps not very well known, but with a doctor’s support, before-tax health savings accounts can be tapped to perform potentially lifesaving radon remediations.
In conclusion, if you are a general practitioner, ask the question. If you are a patient, get an opinion from someone you trust. Let’s work together to manage a manageable situation!
References:
1. Field, R.W., American Family Physician, 2018 Sep 1; 98(5): 280-282
2. New lung cancer cases diagnosed annually: Sheehan, D.F., et al., Cancer Med. 2019Jan; 8(1): 94–103.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6346221/
3. Lung cancer deaths due to radon: https://www.epa.gov/radon/health-risk-radon
4. Lifetime costs of lung cancer: https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/cost-of-cancer-care-reaches-nearly-150b-nationally
5. Radon map of the U.S.: https://www.epa.gov/radon/find-information-about-local-radon-zones-and-state-contact-information#radonmap
6. Stanley, F.K.T., Irvine, J.L., Jacques, W.R. et al., “Radon exposure is rising steadily within the modern North American residential environment and is increasingly uniform across seasons,” Sci Rep 9, 18472 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54891-8
7. State regulations:https://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/radon.aspx#2
8. Ecosense, Inc. website: https://ecosense.io
9. “Intercomparison of Commercially Available Active Radon Measurement Devices in a “Discovered” Radon Chamber,” Marco Carmona, et al., Radiological Health Engineering Laboratory Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Consortium for Verification Technology under the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration, award number DE-NA0002534.
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