When you think of life support, probably the first thing that comes to mind is air. Water might occur to you, and food, but since most of us carry enough fat around the waist line to last a few days, nutrition usually comes last. Nevertheless, when you think homebuilding, you probably envision a glorious new kitchen and never think once — let alone twice — about the air.
Building the PATH Concept House this year has given me a new set of priorities, especially when it comes air quality and radon. I've started thinking about water, too, but that's for the next article.
First, the essential element of life: good air. We think about secondhand smoke, pollution from coal plants, and the air-quality warnings issued in big cities along with the weather report, but most builders — practically all — think little of building homes that entrap occupants in a poison gas that is the second largest contributor to lung cancer after cigarette smoke: radon. An odorless, colorless carcinogenic gas that emits naturally from the soil in vast areas of the United States, radon may seem mysterious and just another thing to hassle with in the homebuilding process. However, it's actually easier to deal with it than to understand it.
Radon is the byproduct of radiation decomposing deep in the earth. It floats up to the surface 24/7 and mostly disperses harmlessly into the air. But cap a spot oozing radon gasses with a modern, tightly built home, and you have a catch basin for poison. Add a family, and you might as well move them into an extermination tent.
Is it happening on your houses? Probably. A simple test you can buy at the home improvement center will tell you for sure. A quick look on the EPA's radon zone map will tell you if you build in a radon hazard zone, although it can occur in anyplace in the United States from Key West to Anchorage.
I have to admit that since codes do not require any action to mitigate for radon and consumers rarely ask about it, I've never bothered to install a mitigation system before. Why spend the extra money when none of my competitors do? Well, it's not that much money. And some things need doing even if consumers have yet to realize the benefits of nontoxic living.
When we installed a passive radon mitigation system in the PATH House, I was motivated by trying to meet the Silver LEED certification. The health department also wanted a demonstration site, so I agreed to use the house as a living textbook illustrating the technology. I expected to struggle with the system, learn about it, and then simply tuck it away to collect dust in my mental kit of rarely used information.
Now I feel guilty instead. The process was so simple and inexpensive, kind of like buckling your seat belts, that it made me realize how remiss I'd been building without it. Why expose your buyers to a known health risk just to save maybe $300? That is the cost to install a deluxe radon system, as we did at the Concept House.
