Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that is emitted in geological formations by Uranium and its decay products. It is not a man-made pollutant. It comes directly from formations containing Radium, which means, broadly, most rock formations.

Although Radon and its properties were well-known for many years, the public health concern about Radon was raised in the middle 1980s. When Radon decays it emits high-energy electrically-charged “alpha” particles that can produce serious lung damage in people.

We are concerned with Radon Measurement and Radon Mitigation. Radon concentration is measured in units called “picocuries per liter of air”, or “pCi/l.” Most health authorities have established a concentration of 4.0 pCi/l as a standard that justifies taking remedial action to eliminate the gas.

In our 25 years of experience running a Radon laboratory we have a gradual lowering of the average indoor concentrations as many buildings have been Radon-Mitigated. In 2008 according to our own statistics, the average indoor levels are in the range of about 2.0 pCi/l. We see about 6%-7% of the results exceeding 4.0 pCi/l, and an occasional (and rare) case in the range of 500 pCi/l! It goes without saying that the highest measured levels are cases that need prompt remediation