from the soil that is harmful, but the amount

from the soil that is harmful, but the amount trapped in a home or well water. He recommends aerating tap water and allowing showers to run 30 seconds or so before using to lower the risks of radon contamination from well water.

Of growing concern to builders, architects ana real estate agents is the potential danger for legal action homeowners may have regarding dwellings with high radon concentrations! Bill Etheir, counsel for the National Association of Home Builders, has cautioned builders to build with full awareness of the threat radon poses. In some parts of the country, real estate companies have added disclaimers of responsibility to sales contracts, and a Spring issue of Business Week advised home buyers to insist on a radon test before writing a purchase contract.

Radiation safety specialist Tom Stone, of the state health department, would like to see every home tested. “It’s important that people realize that their house might be different from their neighbor’s. The only way you can know about the radon in your house is to test for it,” he cautions. The best months to conduct tests are the cold ones when the house is closed to outside ventilation.

Two inexpensive and simple to use home test kits are available by mail from private agencies whose methods have been deemed proficient by the EPA. One, the charcoal canister test, takes a radon reading over one week’s time; the other, called the Alpha Track test, requires 90 days exposure. In the event test results reveal an unsafe radon level, homeowners can get a list of trained radon reduction contractors from the Virginia Department of Health. VDH also offers the booklet Radon Reduction: A Homeowners Guide for those skilled in the do-it-yoUrself arts. Both can be ordered by calling VDH’s toll-free number, 1-800-4680138.