Radon - will caulking basement help?

[Donald]

My radon level in first floor is 2.6. So under the limit of 4. I was thinking I could get it lower if I caulked the basement floor to wall. And some minor basement floor cracking. Not looking to install a radon remediation system.

Basement is unfinished so radon test was done in first floor.

Has anyone lowered radon by caulking alone?

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Not here. Is concrete flooring considered air tight? (non gas permeable).. If not, what good will caulking do?

 

[John_K]

https://radongas.com/sealing-cracks/

 

[RhondaHonda]

I haven't but I've considered it in my own basement. Need to do another radon test myself. I think you should test the unfinished basement before and after caulking to see the levels down there and what effect your caulking has.

 

[NO2]

At 2.6 nothing needs to be done.

 

[ecotourist]

Originally Posted by NO2
At 2.6 nothing needs to be done.

True, but a lower dose of a carcinogenic exposure is almost always better. In general there isn't a cancer threshold, just an "acceptable risk" with an exposure below some defined level.

If I had a concern about radon and cracks in the basement floor I'd caulk them.

 

[stockrex]

Invest in a small energy recovering ventilator ERV, it is like an intercooler. Ducts bring in fresh air and recover the heat/cool, put one in the basement and call it a day, put the unit on timer to operate few hours a day every x hours, this will bring in fresh air and prevent build up.

Amazon carries them, get a panasonic or any name brand, few hundred dollars only.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by NO2
At 2.6 nothing needs to be done.

There is really no "totally safe" level. According to the EPA, any level of radon exposure carries some risk. The EPA threshold is 4pCi/L, but action to reduce indoor radon levels is recommended when readings are 2pCi/L and above.

I'd probably caulk the cracks even if the improvement is marginal.

 

[AZjeff]

For relatively small money you can mitigate a known cancer risk in your home. When we left NW Pa in 2005 we had to have a radon system installed before we could sell it. Wish I had known about it when we lived there.

 

[alarmguy]

Yes, filling cracks will help. The gas takes the path of least resistance. Its why, a simple set up can be done from outside the home by putting some simple perforated pipe into the ground around the foundation so the gas vents to the outside. Maybe the only way if you have slab but should also work basement if you go deep.
Just my thoughts.

 

[jayjr1105]

You can install a passive system with no fan. That will basically cost you 30ft or so of 3" PVC pipe.

 

[Driz]

There's radon in shale big time. Every one of the thousands truckloads of crushed stone I saw crossing the border tripped the radiation alarm.
A little sealing and some sort of fresh in stale air out will surely lower your numbers. Most guys I know won't even test their basements because " there's no radon problems 🤢around this area". Wrong oh wrong. It can be anywhere not just the hot spots you can find published by officials online. It can change in intensity up or down too over time . My place is sitting squarely on top of foundation poured on a big flat shale ledge yet I have very little radon. It has picked up slightly in 25 years so I check it every 5-7 years .
They used to carry test kits at our wallymart back in the 90s but no more because " nobody buys them" I was told. Luckily Amazon sells the kits cheap. Radon's the 2nd largest cause of lung cancer in the US so why take the chance.