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Designing Radon-Resistant Homes
Jeffrey Havelin, P.E.
Overview
Radon is a colorless,
odorless, radioactive gas, which is found in all homes in varying amounts
depending on the locality. Radon levels are measured in picocuries per liter of
air (pCi/L) where a picocurie is a measure of radioactivity. The national
average level within homes is about 1.3 (pCi/L). Not everyone who is exposed to
elevated levels of radon gas will develop lung cancer, but your risk of getting
radon-induced lung cancer increases as your exposure to radon gas increases.
Smokers who have high radon levels in their homes are at an especially high risk
for getting radon-induced lung cancer.
This course will provide the student with step-by-step guidance on how
to build radon resistant homes. By specifying various inexpensive construction
methods and procedures, radon levels can be effectively reduced. A very basic
radon reduction system can reduce radon levels as much as 50%; the same system
can be easily upgraded to provide additional radon level reduction.
The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of twenty-five (25) questions
at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and
skills:
- Design
a passive sub-slab depressurization system
- Design
an active sub-slab depressurization system
- Design
a passive sub- membrane depressurization system
- Design
an active sub- membrane depressurization system
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Awareness of the potential dangers of radon gas levels
- Effect
of differential pressures on radon gas levels
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Determination of radon gas “action level”
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Reduction of “stack effect”
- Use of
mechanical barriers for soil gas entry
- EPA
recommendation for Zone 1 home locations
Course
Click on the following PDF
attachment and review Building Radon Out
A Step by Step Guide on How to Build Radon-Resistant Homes EPA
/402-K-01-002 prior to taking a quiz for credit. You will be quizzed on the
attached document in its entirety.
A Step by Step Guide on How to Build Radon-Resistant Homes (3 MB)
Having Trouble Downloading the PDF File?
Right click on the link. Select "Save Target As..."
Then save on your desktop. To view the file, double click the icon on your
desktop and return to this page to take the quiz.
You may need Acrobat Reader to view this document.
Click on the link below to download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.
To obtain PDH credits for this course, you will need to take a quiz for
credit. Click on the link below.
(To take the quiz,
your web browser must be set to accept cookies. See how to
check your cookie settings.)
 
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