My Real Estate Blog

Radon is an oderless, colorless radioactive gas that seeps into homes from soil. Exposure to radon can cause lung cancer. In fact exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. And 46% of Illinois homes have levels higher than the EPA standard, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Smokers are particularly vulnerable to radon exposure.

The only way to know if you have radon in your home is to test. Professional testing cots about $125 to $150. Test kits can be purchased at hardware stores and home centers.

The EPA recommends fixing your home if radon levels are above 4 picocuries per liter of air. Fixing a radon problem - called radon mitigation - typically costs from $800 to $1,200. Mitigation systems collect radon before if enters the home, and dilute radon concentrations inside the home through increased ventilation.

Only about 100,000 homes in Illinois have been tested since 2003, a fraction of the millions of housing units in the state.

To find a list of licensed labs that sell test kits, contact the Illinois Emergency Management Agency at 800-325-1245 or go online to radon.illinois.gov.

It's a simple test, and you may be saving the life of someone you love.