Four Atlanta Counties Have High Potential for Elevated Radon
categories: Buyers
Which is greater: the risk of claims against title after you’ve closed or the risk of radon poisoning?
I don’t know the answer, but I do know that both are small numbers. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a risk seeker, but I certainly believe that a lot of insurance is sold through fear peddling. I carry the highest deductibles I can on my home owners and health insurance. I sometimes even eat food after its expiration date ;->
Radon is one of those risks that I would have typically ignored in the past - particularly here in the South where radon is practically a non-issue. However, January is National Radon Action month, so I thought I’d do my little part to promote awareness in the Atlanta and North Fulton areas.
I didn’t realize it until recently, but there are four counties in Georgia where indoor radon is predicted to be greater the 4 pico curies per liter, which is the safe level established by the EPA.
The EPA has mapped the entire country and assigned each county to either zone 1, 2 or 3, with zone 1 having the highest potential for unsafe indoor readings.
None of this would really matter much if the four affected counties were sparsely populated but they happen to constitute the heart of Atlanta: Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb counties.
None of this would matter either if a high level of radon just caused your hair to curl, but it doesn’t. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is found in the soil and enters buildings through cracks in the foundation and basement floor. The risk is breathing the gas and you have to be exposed for a period of years to cause cancer.
The EPA reports that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers.
According to the EPA, radon is responsible for 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year and 2,900 of these people have never smoked.
So, what do you do if you are a buyer in the Atlanta area? The easy answer is test for it during the inspection phase of your purchase. Although the test is relatively simple, radon testing is usually not included in the standard home inspection; however, you can stipulate that you want one. The extra charge is around a $100 and there are different types of tests so inquire about what you are getting. There are some free home test kits if you are just curious and you want to do it yourself to avoid a premature death…oh, now I’m fear peddling!
In the end, Georgia is a “buyer beware” state, so the onus is on the buyer to discover any problems with the property. In my humble, not-always-so-risk-adverse opinion, $100 is not much to pay in the grand scheme of things to rule out the presence of a known carcinogen, particularly when you are probably going to pay three to four times that for owner’s title insurance.
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FYI, the four counties cited by EPA (20+ years ago) as highly likely to have high radon levels in homes aren’t the only counties that have recorded high radon levels. In fact, through our Georgia Radon Education Program (funded by an EPA grant), high radon levels have been found all over the state. We now know that the Piedmont area of GA, because of it geology, i.e. granite rock, is very likely to have elevated levels of trace uranium, which eventually decays into radon gas. Testing done through our program over the past 4 years has revealed that approximately 1 in 5-6 homes tested in the GA Piedmont have radon levels at or above 4 pCi/L, the ACTION level set by EPA. I made “action” upper case because that level was chosen soley because radon levels in almost all homes can be reduced to below that level. 4 pCi/L is NOT safe. In fact, living with 4 pCi/L of radon over a year is the same as getting 200 x-rays over that same period.
I’m very glad you are recommending testing for every real estate transaction. I’d like to make you aware of the need to use radon measurement and/or mitigation professionals who are certified by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA: http://www.neha.nrsb.org) In 1998 EPA authorized NEHA and the National Radon Safety Board to certify radon professionals. Certification requires completing an approved radon measurement course, passing an exam, paying a fee for certification and agreeing to follow EPA protocols for measurement and/or mitigation. Continued certification requires additional course hours. Since radon is not regulated in any way in Georgia, the only way to ensure accurate, effective radon measurement and/or mitigation is to select only those who are properly certified.
I would love the opportunity to share what we have learned about radon in Georgia and how it can affect real estate transactions with you and your colleagues. Please contact me to schedule a “Radon and Real Estate” session. I am one of 5 radon educators striving to educate Georgia homeowners, real estate professionals and home builders about radon. Sincerely, Ginger Bennett