18 | January 2019
Consider Adding Radon as a Service to Your Clients
By Henry Slack
R
adon is an IAQ danger (See my other
article in this issue's Consumer Section).
How would you think your clients would
feel if someone gave your home "a clean
bill of health" (whatever that means), and
then they found out later that the home
had a radon level 5 or 10 times the EPA
Action Level? Sure, radon is not an immediate threat to life
and health the way that carbon monoxide is, but it's still an
enormous hazard.
If you decide to get involved in radon professionally,
you'll probably want to conduct testing, which many IAQ
specialists do for other contaminants. A radon test is the
only way to know if radon is present (No smell, no color,
remember?). Testing can be done with a "home kit" that is
mailed in to a lab, or with an electronic monitor (aka Contin-
uous Radon Monitor, or CRM), which can give you a read-
ing every 5-60 minutes.
But a five-minute radon test won't be anywhere near the
average level. Radon levels rise and fall quickly indoors,
depending mostly on weather and occupancy. On top of
that, levels can vary seasonally. A two-day (48-hour) test
is the shortest allowed. A long-term test (3-12 months) is
even more accurate. Rather than stay in the house 2+ days,
most radon inspections take two visits: one to set up, and a
second one to retrieve the test device once the test period
has concluded.
If you want to include this business, I recommend that
you become certified as a radon tester. Not because you
have to have another set of initials after your name; certi-
fication isn't required in many states. Instead, it tells your
customers that yes, you are qualified. The two certifying
