Don't force homeowners to protect selves from radon

Radon. The very word strikes fear into the hearts of homeowners (especially parents) everywhere. It's an odorless, tasteless gas created by the decomposition of radium in the soil.

A few years ago, when my son decided to escape his parents by moving into the lower level of our house, I thought I'd better do a little research. After all, the government said radon could kill the little tyke.

First, I got those funny little canisters, followed directions carefully, then took them in to be analyzed. The reading came out at 13.7! The EPA says anything over four picocuries per liter (pCiL) is dangerous. The brochure with the cannister said I needed to "mitigate" or risk my son's death by lung cancer. I was half-way through an elaborate mitigation plan when I decided to research the consequences of a high radon level.

My research found that my son would risk lung cancer if he lived in that lower level for something like 70 years, 20 hours a day. You can't be too careful, though, so I caulked the cracks in the basement floor, and my son grew to 6 feet 4 inches. He moved out when his head hit the ceiling.

Meantime, the radon scare continued to grow. Buyers who had no clue about radon were demanding that sellers mitigate the radon in their houses. Relocation companies refused to accept houses with high radon readings. Then, a young couple - whose home I listed for sale - spent $1,100 to fix a 4.1 pCi/L radon reading. If a 13.7 reading would take 70 years to hurt you, I figured you'd have to lock your lips on a basement crack and suck like crazy the rest of your life to hurt yourself with a 4.1 radon reading.

It was time I knew more.

The initial study that raised concerns focused on miners who worked in a radon-rich environment and developed lung cancer at abnormally high rates. However, cigarette smoking was not included as a factor in the study.

Most recent studies of areas with high levels of radon have discovered people living in the areas with the highest levels of radon have the lowest levels of lung cancer.

A recent Reuters report said "fears that thousands of people may be dying from radon gas may be groundless," adding "recent studies have failed to find a significant link between domestic exposure to radon and lung cancer."

The Colorado Springs City Council has discussed amending local building codes to require radon mitigation systems be installed in all new homes. That means new home buyers will pay for mitigation whether they want it or not. Why?

Even if further studies show radon really is a danger, the industry's own data indicates significant danger only at the highest levels. Further study is needed before we force home buyers to decide between a new refrigerator and a radon mitigation system.

We should make decisions based on facts rather than fear, after looking at all the data. If there's recent, reliable data to prove radon is really a hazard at household levels, let's hear it.

If there isn't, then let those who still see a danger pay for mitigation. Mitigation costs can be huge and aren't needed on every home, even if the concerns of the Environmental Protection Agency and the radon mitigation industry are valid.

- Stuart Scott is president of Stuart Scott Ltd., a Colorado Springs-based residential real estate agency.

Copyright 1999
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