628.535 -- Radon

I have to give a lot of credit to our Realtor (thanks Uncle Tom!) for warning us about the hazards of this toxic -- and scarily common -- naturally occurring gas. I'll let the Environmental Protection Agency summarize: "Radon is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste. Its presence in your home can pose a danger to your family's health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually."

Scary much?

Bad enough just knowing that it's so prevalent (it contributed to the death of Dana Reeve), but how about finding out that the house you almost closed the deal on (pictured below) has an unusually high concentration of radon? Lucky we paid extra for the radon test! Before I tell you the level in the house, masticate on this, from the Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems:

"The average indoor radon level is estimated to be about 1.3 pCi/L, and about 0.4 pCi/L of radon is normally found in the outside air. The U.S. Congress has set a long-term goal that indoor radon levels be no more than outdoor levels. In keeping with normal radiation safety practices for minimizing all sources of radiation doses, AARST (American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists) recommends testing of buildings and taking action to reduce radon levels below 4 pCi/L."

The house in question tested at 14 pCi/L ... which stands for picoCuries per liter, by the way.

So we are now faced with renegotiating the original contract with this new consideration. Which, along with the fact that the 32-year-old house still has the original furnace and air conditioner, adds about $7k to what we'll have to put into the house.

Maybe this post should have been filed under 643.12 for home-buying how-tos!

The house in question. Cute, but deadly?