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March 2006
Welcome to Inspect-it 1st's
monthly newsletter for real estate professionals. Your clients look to
you for recommendations on health and safety and for valuable
information about the biggest purchase of their lifetime. Our goal is
to help you educate and inform your clients on issues important to them
- and help you improve your customer satisfaction.
Our
monthly newsletter will focus on property concerns, structural
integrity and hazardous materials that may impact the health and well
being of your clients. Our first edition is about radon. We hope you
will find it valuable and informative.
We welcome your feedback,
Jeffrey S. Leighton, President
Inspect-It 1st
Email: jleight3@maine.rr.com
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Radon in Maine
Radon,
a colorless, odorless, and tasteless radioactive gas can be found in
elevated levels ANYWHERE in Maine. Studies have linked exposure to high concentrations of radon gas to
lung cancer. Radon enters homes and buildings through soil and water
and can accumulate inside an enclosed space (such as a home). The
presence of soil gas radon does not indicate or predict the presence of
well water radon, nor does well water radon indicate or predict soil
gas radon.
Radon is measured by pico Curie per liter, or pCi/l. The
State of Maine Bureau of Health advises that a radon water mitigation
system be installed if the water supply is approaching 20,000 pCi/l.
Although studies indicate ingesting water with a high radon
concentration does not present a significant health hazard, a radon
water concentration of 20,000 pCi/l will add 2 pCi/l to a home's total
air radon. The average residential radon level in Maine is 4.1 pCi/l
and even higher in the southern portion of the state. If the radon level in a home is 4 pCi/l or higher, the state of Maine recommends that it be fixed.
Once a home is for sale:
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The
seller cannot legally test for radon or install a
radon mitigation system themselves.
- Testing must be done by a state registered radon tester.
- Mitigation systems must be installed by a
registered radon mitigation contractor.
- If a
home utilizes a well for its water supply, the water should be tested
for radon by a tester registered to collect water samples. It is a violation of state law for the homeowner, prospective buyer, or the realtor to collect this sample.
Maine regulations require that a
home for sale be tested for radon in the lowest usable level, usually
the basement. Even if the basement has a dirt floor, or is only used
occasionally (for example; treadmill, washer/dryer, workbench etc.)
then this is where the detector must be placed.
In most cases, high levels of
radon can be reduced significantly by mitigation measures. A system to
reduce the radon coming into the home from the soil (usually a Sub Slab
or Sub Membrane Depressurization System) costs between $800 and $1500
and takes less than a day to install. A system to remove radon
from the water supply usually costs about $4500.
For more information on radon in Maine, please visit: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/eng/rad/hp_radon.htm
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