|
Posted by on July 16, 2005, 10:30 pm
I can dig it, baby ......
wrote:
> And if there is no basement?
>
>Gideon wrote:
>
>> The important point is that radon is a danger to you or your pets
>> only if you breath it. If you are breathing it, then your risk level is
>> dependent upon the radon level in the air that you are breathing
>> and the length of time that you are exposed.
>>
>> Pets, especially cats, are often at the greatest risk since in some
>> homes they spend a lot of time at ground level in the basement.
>> A person who spends much of the day in a basement home office
>> and a lot of free time watching his large screen basement TV may
>> also be at relatively great risk.
>>
>> Radon is 9 times heavier than air and it tends to stay low in the
>> basement. Basement venting can greatly reduce radon levels.
>> Negative pressures in the house greatly increase radon infiltration
>> into the basement and subsequent radon movement up to the living
>> areas. Exhaust fans are obvious culprits. Air movement such as
>> that created by the furnace blower fan also increases the spread of
>> radon through the house. Cracks in basement foundations,
>> cracks in basement floors and openings such as sump pump pits
>> all increase infiltration.
>>
>> Better than guessing, buy an inexpensive radon test kit, use it
>> correctly in your basement, and then send it to the lab. If the test
>> results indicate high radon levels, then buy a couple more test
>> kits and test your living areas. I have a friend whose basement
>> tested at 37 microcuries - a level considered rather dangerous.
>> But the upper levels of the house have acceptable levels of radon
>> and the family is relatively unconcerned since the basement is
>> just a place to house the furnace, water heater, washer, dryer
>> and a lot of junk.
>>
>> They feel secure with just simple steps such as cracking open
>> a window when an exhaust fan is running, opening basement
>> windows on occasion for some basement cross ventilation, opening
>> living area windows briefly once in a while during the winter, etc.
>>
>> Like cigarette smoking, radon can be very dangerous and can
>> present a greatly increased RISK of cancer. Like second-hand
>> smoke, radon dangers can be greatly exaggerated.
>>
>> Gideon
>>
>>
>>
>>
Click here every day to feed an animal that needs you today !!!
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/
Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'
HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap