How unexpected, yet expected. The previous home owner said that they had a radon test before that came back negative. Maybe it did. However, ours did not. This is Pennsylvania, the state of quarries and rock and stone. To not have Radon in your basement here is almost impossible. So it was expected. As my father told me, people who do not have a radon system in PA are in denial.
What is Radon and will this effect our resale of the house?
Following what the EPA website says:
Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas.
You can't see radon. And you can't smell it or taste it. But it may be a problem in your home. Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. That's because when you breathe air containing radon, you can get lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.
Radon can be found all over the U.S.
Radon comes from the natural (radioactive) breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air you breathe. Radon can be found all over the U.S. It can get into any type of building — homes, offices, and schools — and result in a high indoor radon level.
I am just surprised that the previous home owner and tenants had radon for so many years and never took care of it.
Our house is about 60 years old. Back then, individuals did not really insulate their home. That was because oil was plentiful and cheap and insulating materials were costly, poorly fabricated and uncommon. People were not concerned about insulation till the energy crisis of the 1970's, when the price for gas increased dramatically. That is why today we are very conscientious about saving energy and insulating our homes. The expense to heat a home is huge, and every penny we spend on the best insulation and installing it correctly is worth it. Here is a link to more information about the energy crisis in the 1970's: Wiki page on oil crisis Amusing take on why they did not insulate From the wiki link you can see this chart of oil prices: Notice the spike in 1973 and 1979. Link to historical oil prices: Oil Price History Chart The whole first floor of our house has an outer wall of stone. Between the stone and the cement board...
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