Prevent Radon Gas With a Proper Mitigation System

Odorless, tasteless and radioactive radon gas accounts for an estimated 14,000 deaths each year, and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. (after smoking). You can prevent radon leaks in homes you build with a proper radon mitigation system.

Radon is all around us, but usually in such low levels that there is little risk. However, if radon is allowed to concentrate undisturbed it can quickly rise to dangerous levels. And, during construction, when a home's basement or foundation punctures the soil, it acts like a vacuum offering an area of lesser pressure. Surrounding radon is then sucked into the home through any cracks or gaps in the foundation. Once inside the home, a tight building envelope will help concentrate gas levels, and the homeowner is then vulnerable to long-term exposure.

Radon Gas Mitigation

The best practice for radon gas mitigation is active subslab depressurization, which captures and contains the radon before it enters the living space, and then forces the gas out of the home.

Here are step-by-step tips on how to create an active subslab depressurization radon reduction system to remove radon from the home:

• Install one or more perforated suction pipes in a layer of gravel beneath the slab. These pipes will collect the radon from the soil.
• Connect these suction pipes to one solid piece of pipe that extends from below the slab up through the roof. This pipe is used to carry the radon from the subslab out through the top of the home where it can be diluted in the atmosphere.
• Connect a radon vent fan or radon mitigation fan to the suction pipe, usually in the attic. This radon mitigation fan will make the subslab depressurization "active" and will force the radon from the home.

Builders often rely on simple caulking to seal a home's foundation, passive vent pipes and natural ventilation as radon reduction systems for the home. But these methods aren't as effective as an active subslab depressurization system.