New law in Minnesota requiring all new homes to be built radon-resistant.

[Nick Gromicko]

New law looks to zap radon from new homes

By Jeff Hansel
The Post-Bulletin
A new law passed by the Minnesota Legislature will require all new homes built in the state to include mitigation against radon.
Why is that important?
"Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., and about half of Olmsted County homes have radon levels that exceed the Environmental Protection Agency Action Level," says the Olmsted County Public Health Web site.
"This general region of the country is identified by EPA as a high-radon-potential area, and Olmsted County is in that area," said Dan DeLano, a registered environmental health specialist with county public health. "Based on the testing results we see in our lab, that's true. About 50 percent or more of the homes test at or above EPAs action level -- that includes new housing."
But, he cautioned, "you can build a home resistant, and it can still have elevated radon levels."
What will the law do?
The bill, SF1735, was authored by Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester. It was signed into law by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on May 4.
It requires the commissioner of labor and industry to adopt new rules for radon control for all new residential buildings.
Those rules will become part of the Minnesota State Building Code.
Existing homes aren't covered. The cost of retrofitting is much higher than the initial cost of keeping radon levels below dangerous levels.
"Get your home tested. That's the biggest thing you can do," said Kyle Ravert, a geologist with OMNI Environmental of Rochester, which tests homes during the sales process. "It's odorless, it's tasteless. You can't see it."
Homes in Olmsted County have been shown to have high radon levels, Ravert said. But not all homes have a problem with radon. Ravert had his own home tested, and it had low levels.
"The only way to know if you have high radon is to have your home tested," he said.
When does the law affecting new home construction take effect?
Aug. 1.

Information
For more information about radon, go to www.co.olmsted.mn.us/health/radon_testing.asp. To learn if your home has dangerous levels of radon, call 285-8370 and ask for a radon kit.

[Jason A. Sieg, CMI]

I am going to be a broken record here.

This would help in the promotion of having a new home built with a PWFS. PWFS cost around 1/2 of what it cost for a traditional foundation to be built and by design they are already prepped for Radon Mitigation. The only additional work or cost would be for a fan & vent pipes.

If a double sided slip joint (you may call it a vapor barrier) is not installed, then the PWFS is not built correctly.

PWFS are simple to build and cost less then traditional foundation systems but, you need to follow the engineering plan.