Just finished a 48 hour short term radon test with my Sun Nuclear model 1027. Highest results from my area I have ever seen. 33.4
Just wondering since it is getting close to having it calibrated again, Could it possibly be off that much? Most of the test preformed around my area seem to be in the 2 - 10 range, and since this one is so high i’m questioning the numbers. The house did have a block basement with many cracks and an open crawlspace with an uncovered dirt floor. Sure that isn’t helping any.
Thoughts?
…a 33.4 would be a low reading for this area of Chester County, PA
I have had results over 500 pCi/liter…
33.4 would not be unusual …
you have captured your random high reading
I would not worry about the monitor…
Not an unusual reading.
Nothing against electronic units, but I will never use them. Calibration fees/shipping, failures due to lack of electricity, theft, lack of understanding the readings with clients/agents, etc.; and these units cost money.
I have used red Air-Chek kits for over 10 years, with never a problem, or a client/agent question. I always use two of them for each test; no electronics, no thefts, easy reading of results, no calibration fees, no large boxes to haul around, nothing to cause failures, etc. etc. Kits are sent overnight to NC with next day results.
Less liability also. You get a lab to send you the results; not some small electronic box.
Gary,
Respectfully, your living in the dark ages. You should check out Radalink and their program.
They calibrate twice a year - no coast to you not even shipping - and your sent a fresh unit so there’s no down time either.
The report is done by and sent from their lab, not some little box.
The results are sent to you in about 15 minutes.
The units all have battery back up so no power outage problems.
The units can also tell if they’ve been tampered with, air check can’t do that.
etc. etc. etc.
About the only thing you mentioned that I see as a concern would be theft.
Really talk to Jason or Terry at radalink, check them out at a conference or take one of their classes, see if you don’t agree after that.
I have had that happen over the last 10 Years…
If at the scheduled time of retrieval the monitor is missing, a call is immediately made to the Police to report the theft…
… In an Unoccupied Home, our monitor may not be the only thing missing…
If the Seller is denying / refusing us access to retrieve a monitor, a bill is sent every 48 hours for $150 (cost of test lost due to inactive monitor) to the Listing Agent’s Office… Police have also been called in these circumstances as well to report theft…
Again, these were extreme and infrequent circumstances…
With Air Chek I can do an unlimited number of test at multiple properties if I wanted to how many can you do at any given time using Radalink? How many machines have you invested in?
Billy,
Personally, I’m just starting out with Radon and only need one machine at this time. Not being in an area known for high Radon levels we don’t get a request for testing at every home like they do in other areas. So it works well for me.
The program I have with Radalink is $75 a month, they send me a newly calibrated unit every 6 months, I send the old one back postage prepaid by Radalink. I get test results in under 2 hours (usually 15 min.) and the report includes time, temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure etc. charted hourly over the total test time. They have other programs for those who need several monitors also.
I realize charcoal tests are the cheapest out there but they’re also the least accurate, that’s why protocols require two side by side. They’re also the easiest to fool. They give you a number and that’s it. You’re competing with Home Depot and Lowe’s who sell the same test for around $15 to $25.
These are some of MY reasons for using Radalink they may not work for you or Gary, I just suggest if you’ve not yet checked them out it would be worth your time. Don’t get me wrong charcoal has its place but at this time for me its in the grill.
I call BS.
You have unsupported statements.
Prove me wrong.
Mike,
I’m not at the office but when I get back I’ll post quotes from the Florida Radon manual and while I’m out I’ll get the actual price for the radon tests from Lowe’s. As for easy to fool, move it out side or put it into a plastic bag untill just before the inspector come to pick it up.
A charcoal test measures the weight change from the time it was manufactured to the time that it is sent back to the lab with the assumption that the difference is (mostly) in Radon absorption. Charcoal can absorb alot more than just Radon, water vapor in particular, which can give false readings. In humid areas like Florida this can be especially important to the final results.
Show me the reports you get back from air check and I’ll show you the 4 to 5 page report I get back from Radalink with hourly tracking of all the parameters I listed earlier, both in numerical and graph formats.
As I said before, I believe Radalink is the better way to go for me, check them out for yourself and see if you agree. You don’t have to agree it’s OK by me I don’t rep for them I just believe in the service they provide me.
Lawrence. You are certainly welcome to offer your opinion but to make erroneous statements as if they are facts is something else.
The EPA recognizes what methods are acceptable for a real estate transaction.
There is no increased accuracy offered by a longer report or a digital display.
Each method has to meet the same accuracy requirements. Nuff said.
Airchek has been measured more than once against machine counterparts and has been proven to be just as accurate. Don’t ask for me for docs I don’t have them to back it up but Airchek can back it up. I wouldn’t mind using Radalink as well but I’m just afraid of power outages and not being able to meet customer demands. So far I had 5 test going at once. Another thing after numerous test I have conducted so far I have never been called back with a complaint on a Radon test.
??
How many times were the Results 3.9 or 4.1 pCi/liter?
That is when the questions and complaints roll in…
I had a 4.5 pCi/liter…
Seller calls and says my reading is WRONG…
because he used the Pro-Lab test (From the Orange Box Store) and it was 3.8 pCi/liter…
Difference between 3.8 and 4.5 (maybe sounds BIG) …
(Actually) 7/10ths of a Trillion…
LOL
Some Clients just have no idea…
For Clients that are overly concerned about Radon…
Madame Curie (Measurement named after her) worked with Curies of Uranium
1 Curie/liter = 1/1
1 picoCi/liter = 1/1,000,000,000,000
You were right Michael, I was mistaken, the tests are only $12.95 at my local Lowe’s. (That’s what we have to compete with)
Yes EPA recognizes both methods but only a CR meter is recognized for a single test option - Indoor Radon and Radon Decay Product Measurement Device Protocols (US EPA 1992d).
I never said the length of the report increased the accuracy (it does look better to the client though :mrgreen:) but charcoal canisters are biased toward the last 12 or so hours of the test- Florida Radon Certification Program Manual (Florida DOH 03/15/2011) - and as such are not true integration devices as are continuous monitors. Also it’s informative to be able to show the binaural highs and lows in the radon levels.
Ok Micheal?, I think that should back up my “erroneous statements”.
The rest was indeed my opinion of the two methods and the two companies. I formed that opinion after researching the subject and was only suggesting that Gary might feel the same if he checked out Radalink.
Joe,
I gotta agree with all three of you posts
Billy,
Understood, I don’t have that demand to deal with… yet.
Please post a source of information that shows the accuracy of the result is less over a 48 hour period.
I use security tape on my stands, doors, windows, etc. Having done 9 tests all at once would be an expensive investment on electronic units. I have been questioned several times by using “envelopes” instead of fancy electronic read-outs with LCD displays. I have been up against electronic units a few times, with exact same results. The buyers only want a numerical reading; not hourly/fancy graphs read-outs. That is fluff. Having a lab do the test over an electronic box is best if an issue ever goes to court.
To each his own, and his pocket.
Since Continuous Monitors take hourly readings, only 24 hours should be good and superior to 2…
but…
The “charcoal lobbyists” won out in NJ…
And the rest of the nation is History…
48 Hours as Standard for all methodologies…
… It is… what it is…
IMHO the 48 hour test is not the best indicator of actual exposure.
Since Radon levels in a home can very significantly over time, looking at a 48 hour window is questionable but is what we have been given to work with to fit into the limited real estate transaction window.
Even the 4 piC/l mitigation level is of rather interesting heritage as it not based on health considerations but rather the ability to mitigate most structures to below that level.
It is what it is.