Radon gas
is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that causes an estimated 21,000 deaths annually in the US alone. Given the threat radon poses, detecting its presence inside homes and other enclosed spaces — such as schools, offices, or other structures — is the first step toward preventing those deaths.
In recent years, cutting-edge technology has allowed for significant advances in the field of radon monitoring. The following innovations are enhancing efforts to reduce the risk of radon exposure.
Electronic Digital Radon Monitors
Today’s consumers can affordably choose from active or passive radon detectors. While both reveal the presence of radon, electronic digital monitors are more efficient and effective.
Passive detectors typically utilize charcoal to capture a sample of indoor air that is then analyzed in a laboratory to determine the amount of radon present. While it’s an affordable means of detection, it has some limitations. For example, submitting the sample for analysis and getting results back from the lab can take weeks. They only provide a single integrated average reading for the time deployed in one location and can only be used once.
Electronic digital monitors continuously measure radon levels for short intervals to show radon fluctuations over time, rather than only providing the average concentration over a single deployment period. These monitors collect real-time data, with the levels being displayed directly on the device or mobile app. They can also be moved between locations to provide a more complete assessment of radon levels in a building.
While electronic monitors cost more, their features and functionality make them a more desirable solution for accurately monitoring your radon exposure over time.
Smart Radon Monitors
Several factors can affect the indoor radon concentration. For instance, seasonal changes in weather or variations in the amount of building ventilation can cause radon levels to increase.
Smart radon monitors continuously track radon fluctuations and send real-time updates and alerts to mobile devices if levels become dangerously high. They provide accurate results in only a few hours, with initial readings from the most sensitive monitors available in as little as 10 minutes. By providing real-time notifications, smart monitors allow users to respond to radon issues in a timely manner.
Smart radon monitors also educate users on the significance of their radon levels. Detectors that simply provide an integrated result cannot alert users if their current level is unsafe . The notifications provided by smart monitors have the potential to effectively explain whether radon concentrations are within a safe range, concerning, or requiring immediate attention.
Why Radon Levels Fluctuate and the Importance of Continuously Monitoring these Changes
While seasonal weather conditions or changes in a building’s ventilation can cause radon to fluctuate, other factors can also cause levels to rise or fall monthly, weekly, or daily — sometimes, even hourly. For instance, many people tend to leave their windows or doors open more frequently during warmer months, which will typically dilute indoor concentrations.
During colder times of the year, however, windows and doors are typically closed to heat the building. As a result of warmer indoor air and less ventilation, radon can more easily become trapped indoors where it can accumulate and rise to dangerous levels. As the temperature difference between inside and out increases, the air pressure indoors becomes lower with respect to the air pressure in the soil below the building. This increases the draw of soil gasses, including radon, into the building through even the tiniest cracks and holes in the slab and foundation.
Variations in interior and exterior temperatures cause radon levels to fluctuate throughout the day, particularly in the early morning hours before sunrise when exterior temperatures are at their lowest while interior temperatures remain relatively constant. Additionally, variations in a building’s occupancy throughout the day or evening can also cause interior temperatures to rise, while periods of prolonged vacancy can cause radon levels to accumulate.
Moreover, on rainy days, changes in atmospheric pressure and the amount of moisture in the soil can cause groundwater to push radon into the building, causing levels to rise even further. And, if the rain continues over a prolonged period, the ground around the building can become so saturated that it will prevent soil gas entry, causing indoor radon levels to fall until the soil can dry. Indoor radon may be higher during periods of drought.
If radon levels go unmonitored, the building’s occupants are completely unaware of when and for how long their radon concentrations meet or exceed the EPA’s action level of 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter) . In recognizing the various causes of fluctuating radon levels, it’s easy to see why smart radon monitoring is so important. While your average radon level may often fall within safe guidelines, it’s essential to keep an eye on the daily and seasonal fluctuations to best determine the need for mitigation or to determine if a radon mitigation system is performing as intended.
Consider this scenario: if radon levels spike each night while you’re home and asleep, prolonged exposure can heighten your risk of developing lung cancer over time. Implementing effective mitigation measures not only helps stabilize radon fluctuations but also reduces the associated health risks significantly.
Radon Map
Radon map initiatives use passive devices to collect data over large geographic areas. That data is then used to label areas on maps based on their potential for radon exposure with the hopes of increasing public awareness of radon threats.
The problem with the current radon map is that it typically relies on readings from one-time radon test kits that don’t take radon fluctuations into account. As a result, those in areas considered “low radon” may face dangers that they fail to detect. The one benefit of radon mapping is that it creates for those in “high radon” areas a sense of urgency to monitor radon levels.
Today’s cutting-edge digital radon monitors integrate the latest technology to provide readings that are more accurate and more accessible. For today’s consumer, that means it is easier than ever to avoid the deadly side effects that can result from long-term exposure to high levels of radon.
By Insoo Park, CEO – Ecosense — Insoo Park is CEO of Ecosense , an innovator in the radon gas monitoring industry providing people peace of mind through its intelligent and highly accurate radon detectors for homes, educational campuses, assisted living centers, community centers, and commercial buildings. The company’s smart real-time radon detectors utilize a patented ion chamber detection technology with high-accuracy performance capable of delivering the first radon result in minutes not days.
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