Pre-Plumbing Radon in WA

[Jim Katen]

So, WA guys, is there some kind of requirement for new homes to be pre-plumbed for radon reduction systems up there?

I've just seen my second house in the 'Couve that's pre-plumbed for radon. Built in '07.

??? - Jim Katen, Oregon

[Richard Moore]

What's Radon?

Seriously though, not as far as I'm aware of for this area (always willing to be corrected). And, I can't speak for the red zones in the lower left or upper right corners of the state.

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Wouldn't it be more likely to be local/county requirements?

[Jim Katen]

What's Radon?

Seriously though, not as far as I'm aware of for this area (always willing to be corrected). And, I can't speak for the red zones in the lower left or upper right corners of the state.

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Well, the houses I saw were in the red zone in Clark County.

By the way, those maps are nearly worthless. I once asked about the number of cases that they were based on, and it ain't anywhere near a statistically valid sample.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Richard Moore]

Hi again...

So I dug a little and found that it is in fact covered by the State's VIAQ codes for high risk areas/counties. You can see the requirements here...

http://www.spokanecounty.org/loaddoc.aspx?docid=2265

Good thing I don't travel too far, eh?

Look at the difference in the Radon Pie Charts for Spokane and King County.

http://county-radon.info/WA/Spokane.html

http://county-radon.info/WA/King.html

I've always believed we have low levels here because our "soil" is mostly glacial till rather than bedrock.

[Rob Amaral]

The maps are I believe based on overfly gamma surveys.. (DOE was looking for uranium, the parent of radon). They criss-crossed the US and created those maps.. They are actually pretty good.. considering how they were done.. They are not based on 'radon tests'.

[msteger]

I don't even show those maps to people because all they have to see is that they are in a yellow county and then they'll assume "we have no radon here". "Luckily", being in Lancaster County, PA where our county avg is about 17.9 pCi/L (and every county around here is near as high on avg), it's not tough convincing clients get a radon test performed.

I tell my clients that every home is different.. you can't really go by a map or EPA stats. Test your home. That's the only way to know.