About
Radon

EDDIE’S STORY

DON’T FREAK

Radon is dangerous, but exposure for short periods of time is not considered overly harmful. Installing a radon mitigation system will keep radon levels low.

MAGIC NUMBER

The EPA’s suggested action level is 4.0 pC/iL. This means that any building with radon levels at or above 4.0 should have a mitigation system. This the same level used as a decision point for most real estate transactions .

NOT SO MAGIC 2.7

While 4.0pCi/L is used most often, there is no true safe level of radon. The World Health Organization uses 2.7 as their action level. Levels below 1.0 are sometimes very hard to reach with a radon system, but levels below 2.7 are frequently achieved.

DEPENDS ON USE

If you are selling your property, 4.0 should be your guideline. If you are staying in the building, consider how you use the lowest level of the building. If people spend a lot of time sleeping or sitting there, or if children frequently play in this area, you may want to ask our System Designer about reaching a lower number, perhaps under 3.0 pCi/L.

A LONG TERM ISSUE

Exposure to radon at the levels encountered in northern Illinois is considered a long term issue. In other words, short-term (days, weeks, months) exposure, while not good for you, has only a small effect on your cancer risk. Exposure over many years is the primary concern.

AMBIENT NUMBERS

To get a feel for how your radon level compares to outdoor measurements, consider that the level of radon that you might experience while walking in northern Illinois usually ranges from below .5 to 2.0 pCi/l.

HIGH NUMBERS

To further build a reference, radon levels in northern Illinois over 50.0 are very rare. Numbers over about 25.0 are considered very high. Numbers under 10.0 are the most common.

CHILDREN IMPACTED MORE

Children are more adversely affected by radon exposure. This is primarily because their noses are closer to the floor and apt to inhale stronger doses of radon particles. This is especially true if they are crawling or playing on the floor.

STRONGER ON LOWER LEVELS

Various factors may influence radon levels, but as a general rule of thumb, radon levels tend to drop in half for each floor above the lowest level. For instance, a 12.0 pCi/L reading in the basement would indicate about a 6 on the first floor and a 3 on the second floor.

CHANGES YEAR BY YEAR

You should check your radon levels every 2 years. Radon levels can change dramatically over the years – a deposit of Radium in your soil may be on the verge of its next decay step and could produce radon in large amounts in the near future.

DEADLY
COMBINATION

If you smoke, and live with high radon, your lung cancer risk increases dramatically. For instance, at 4.0 pCi/L radon level, 7 in 1,000 non-smokers will get lung cancer. For smokers, that number jumps to 62.

CAN INSTALL AFTER CLOSING

Our proposal guarantees that we will reduce your radon to acceptable levels for the price stated, and regulations and our company ethics ensure that we keep our promise. A buyer takes very little gamble if, because of time constraints, they install the system after the closing.

100% SUCCESS

Some mitigation jobs can be very tricky,but because of our great diagnostic skills and equipment, we have a 100% success rate. 99.6% of the time, we succeed on the first try. We’ve even helped our competitors with jobs they could not solve.

HIGHLY $ COMPETITIVE

DuPage Radon Contractors is aggressive in finding ways to be as efficient as is reasonably possible, and we leverage volume parts buying to keep prices extremely competitive.

REDUCES HUMIDITY!

An extra benefit of radon mitigation systems is that they remove a large amount of indoor humidity along with radon gas. So much humidity is removed that we have installed systems primarily just to reduce the musty smell of a basement.

BEWARE OF PHONE ESTIMATES

Some competitors have begun to give only phone estimates. It’s sometimes unclear who pays if they have guessed inaccurately. One company says they guarantee their phone price, but in reality, they will walk away from the job if they realize their phone bid was too low upon seeing the building.