Air Quality Consultants, Inc.

01/06/2025

Why Test for Radon in the Winter
Home radon levels change from season to season as the soil around your home grows drier or wetter. There are specific reasons why it is important to test for radon during winter months.

Heating and ventilation
A key reason for measuring the annual average value of radon during winter is that homes and workplaces are tightly sealed to retain heat in order to keep people warm. This causes the radon that seeps in to have less chance of being ventilated out.

Snow and ice
Snow and ice in the soil surrounding homes forms a layer that blocks radon from being diluted into outdoor air which causes it to seek an escape route into your home. Radon then enters homes through cracks, sump holes, and cavities in the foundation.

Stack effect
During winter months outdoor temperatures are lower (colder) than indoor temperatures. This increases indoor air pressure. Then, as warm air rises within the home it pulls radon up with it. Acting somewhat like a vacuum, the process is often called the “chimney effect”.

Time spent indoors
People tend to spend more time indoors during the freezing cold winter months. If a home has high radon, the home occupants have increased risk of radon exposure during these months.

Energy efficiency
Energy-efficient and environmentally friendly homes are designed to keep heat in during the winter. Conversely, they are also designed to not let any air conditioning out during the summer.

Because of the increase in energy-efficient homes built since 1992, recent studies show that indoor radon exposure is becoming increasingly uniform across seasons.

Radon fluctuates
If you test in the winter months and have low radon levels, it is important to test again during summer months. Conversely, if you test for radon in the summer and levels are low it is recommended that you test again during the winter months.

If your last radon test was low, try taking the next scheduled radon test during a different season. Instead of waiting a full two years to test again in the spring, try testing a few months early so you can measure radon levels in the winter.

01/06/2025

January is national Radon Awareness Month

What is Radon?
Radon and its risks

Radon is a radioactive gas that forms when the Uranium in natural stone decays. The gas decays into radon progeny which are radioactive metal atoms that get caught in our respiratory tracts during inhalation. Radiation emitted from the radon progeny causes lung cancer by damaging the cells in our respiratory tracts and lungs. Radon causes an estimated 22,000 deaths a year and is present in every home.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health Canada have established guidelines to assist in determining radon risk. Yearly exposure levels of radon gas should not exceed 4.0 pCi/l in the US and 200 Bq/m3 in Canada. If levels are detected at or above these guidelines it is recommended that action be taken to reduce your exposure.

12/12/2024

Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Wow, only God would think of a sign like that. I would've had a fireworks display and giant speakers and a 1,000 foot lit up statue.
God's idea was perfect!

Call now to connect with business.

12/07/2024

January is National Radon Awareness Month. Test your home!

03/07/2022

Leslie C Vaughn

Proposed legislation that would restrict US imports of Russian oil aren’t material enough to US supplies to change much.

11/16/2019

Hey, I measured radon at a home in Rocklin: 137.9 pCi/L! (4.0 is the Action level).
Get your home tested for Radon.

04/24/2019

Hello all of you who live in houses, apartments, or condos or anything other than a vehicle or a tent. Last weekend I measured a home with 139.7 pCu/l radon! The EPA guideline is< 4.0. Help avoid lung cancer. get your residence checked soon.

02/04/2019

Radon. It's real. Test for it!

01/30/2019

I knew it.

The UCLA, in collaboration with Harley-Davidson, conducted a study on the effects of a bike ride on the brain. We're writing you an anti-stress prescription!

11/21/2018

Northern Californians: I had an outdoor particulate reading of 229,000 >0.3 microns two days ago. Let's hope this rain moves the number toward zero.