Tighten Home may have Higher Radon

http://ieconnections.com/energyefficient-homes-may-have-more-radon-risk-p386-90.htm?sthash.nZoHwzxp.mjjo&goback=.gde_1906874_member_5834769234034454528

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A new study asserts that sealing up homes to improve energy efficiency can also trap more radon inside, thereby leading to a greater risk of lung cancer.
“While control of ventilation is good for energy efficiency, indoor temperatures in winter,4 and protection against outdoor pollutants (notably airborne particles), it has the potential to increase concentrations of pollutants arising from sources inside or underneath the home,” the researchers wrote. “Notable among these is radon, a naturally occurring inert gas formed from the radioactive decay of elements of the uranium series, which seeps into homes through the floor, especially in areas with predisposing geology and soil type.”
Radon is the second most important risk factor for lung cancer after smoking and may be responsible for 15,000 to 22,000 deaths from lung cancer each year in the United States.
Paul Wilkinson and several co-authors calculated what would happen if homes in England used available methods to become more airtight and cut air leakage in half. Increasing air tightness without taking any other measures would increase indoor radon levels by an average of more than 50 percent, they found.
Since certain types of homes are at greater risk of radon intrusion than others, Wilkinson said that homeowners should check radon levels before and after installing energy-efficiency retrofits. He also suggested remediation measures such as fitting extraction pumps under the floor for homes with high radon levels.
The results of the study “should not be interpreted as providing evidence against the desirability of improving home energy efficiency in general,” the authors wrote. “However, reducing ventilation as part of these measures will embed changes for millions of dwellings that may carry substantial detrimental (as well as positive) effects on health while making only a modest contribution to energy efficiency.”
Policymakers should conduct “a more careful re-evaluation of how retrofitting of dwellings is carried out to ensure that the potential benefits, including those to health, are not compromised by injudicious air tightening,” they concluded.
The study, which can be found at http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.f7493, appeared in the British medical journal BMJ.

Gee, you think Genius?

LMAO…internet bully!

Sean there is a crazy theory going around that house that have water intrusion also have a higher chance of mold…what will these clowns think of next :slight_smile:

There is a tremendous amount of info provided within this simple link.
Our evidence also suggests that adding mechanical ventilation and heat recovery in the most airtight dwellings may appreciably reduce indoor radon levels. However, it can only be introduced in the most airtight dwellings (and few current dwellings come close to the required levels of air tightness), pressure differentials may in some circumstances exacerbate radon levels,42 and, as yet, experience with it has been insufficient to know how well it would work in practice over the long term. Failure of mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems (through incorrect installation, operation, maintenance, or use) could result in extremely high levels of radon.

Learn to read! I clearly said may. I have added the relevant information as to not trust the HRV or ERV as a means for Radon reduction in a tight home. I think this might be a problem if and when you find a House that has a designed HRV or ERV that must run continuous for levels to be acceptable and labelled as Radon reduction. I would even add this in my report but as of yet SSM On has very little problems compared to the US.

Read your post…it says “researchers” state, that tighter homes could increase the contaminates from under the home. Really? You need researchers to tell you this? To me it is common sense the less outside air coming in would create a more closed environment and increase the pressure and lower the fresh air exchange.

Really “Researchers” wrote about this as if it is some super “finding”…

I can read. Here read this. sdfzzzzzzzzkevinisanassholezzzzzzdf

Warning tighter skin my make you more attractive.
or tighter sphincter may make for squeakier farts. :stuck_out_tongue:

What is your problem Sean! does that logo you have so proudly displayed mean nothing to you.