Radon Exposure in the Home and Indoor Air Quality

The Clay Bowl Effect is the leading cause of water intrusion and poor indoor air quality in homes. Water becomes trapped below your foundation slab and stays at a certain level until more water is introduced and the basement becomes damp, or even floods. Even if you aren't experiencing flooding, you could still be experiencing problems due to the water under your slab.

Allergen-Filled Air

As warm air rises from the crawlspace, basement, or first floor it is is then drawn up ever higher as convective forces naturally carry it up into the attic and eventually out of your home. This means that new air needs to take its place. A nearly indiscernible, yet constant air flow from the lowest level of our homes to the highest is underway all of the time.

This process is called the "Stack Effect". Building experts and scientists of environmental science agree that up to 50% of the air on the first floor is basement air-at any given moment! Air within your home is cycling through constantly at a rate where every hour, you have completely new air in the living spaces of the home: air that traveled up from your basement!

If the air in your basement has a higher humidity content, as is normally the case, that air contains mold spores and other allergens because those micro-organisms thrive in higher humidity.

Poor Indoor Air Quality

The Clay Bowl Effect can also be lowering your air quality. The stagnant water under your foundation creates a musty basement where mold and other allergens can hide out. These mold and mildew particles are then mixed into the dusty, dry air from rest of the house through the duct system and the end result is an allergy cocktail that can leave our families feeling lousy.

Radon Concerns

Did you know that surveys of Colorado indicate that 1 in 5 homes have elevated radon levels? In fact, the EPA has found that if you are located in any county in the Front Range, you have the same risk of elevated radon levels. Radon has been judged to be the most serious environmental carcinogen to which the general public is exposed and which the EPA must address (www.epa.gov). Based on current exposure and risk estimates, radon exposure in single-family houses may be a factor in as many as 20,000 of the total lung cancer fatalities which occur each year.

Radon decay can attach to the surface of aerosols, dusts, and smoke particles which may be inhaled, and become deeply lodged or trapped in the lungs. Once lodged, they can radiate and penetrate the cells of mucus membranes, bronchi, and other pulmonary tissues.

Radon seeps into homes from the surrounding soil through cracks and other openings in the foundation, and just like carbon monoxide, is odorless and indiscernible by human our faculties until permanent damage to our bodies has been done.

Now that these and other adverse byproducts of the Clay Bowl Effect are better known and understood, what can homeowners do to protect themselves and their families from the health dangers caused by poor indoor air quality?

1. Have your indoor air tested for the presence and concentration of mold, dust mites, and radon by a qualified company.

2. If moderate or high levels of biological allergens or radioactive gases are discovered, engage a qualified basement repair service company to design and install appropriate systems to mitigate these risks. Your family can then breathe easier year around!