Radon is a radioactive gas that causes over 20,000 deaths per year making it the second leading cause of lung cancer. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in the soil.
The average outdoor radon level is 0.4 picoCuries/liter (pCi/l). The average indoor radon level is 1.3 pCi/l. Though no level of radon is safe, the USEPA recommends mitigation for homes with radon levels 4.0 pCi/l or higher.
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Under normal circumstances, very little radon leaves the soil. When a home is built, the tendency of air to rise in the structure (known as the “stack effect”) draws the radon from the soil through the home and out the attic vents.
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Another force of radon entry is a karst formation, areas of limestone that have been eroded by underground drainage forming crevices and sinkholes. St. Louis boasts many of these formations and home foundations that communicate with a karst formation need to be remediated appropriately.
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