Category Archives: Radiation & Radioactive Materials Testing

Radon Gas Testing, Mold and Indoor Air Quality Inspections Dallas Houston Austin

Radon is one of the leading causes of lung cancer

Radon gas in homes is one of the leading causes of lung cancer

Current MAP requirements allow a 25% ground floor sampling variance from the ANSI-AARST testing protocol.  However, if any of the units come back at or above 4 pCi/L, 100% ground floor testing is required. You can find the current radon policy in Chapter 9.5.C of the MAP guide: https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/4430GHSGG-BM.PDF

Attached is a 2018 radon update from Pat Burke that supplements the existing policy:   Radon Technical Updates Pat Burke November 2018

Multifamily has proposed eliminating the 25% sampling variance and requiring 100% ground floor testing.  If approved, this change would go into effect when the new MAP guide is published.  The guide is still going through review. (from a memo dated Aug 5th, 2020)

The new requirement has now largely passed and is in effect as of this writing (January 1st, 2022) and because of the ongoing pandemic, ScanTech is no longer performing surveys for OCCUPIED multi-family dwellings or nursing facilities. We only perform commercial surveys in unoccupied structures which are typically new builds, though we can still do office buildings under certain conditions such as in conjunction with other forms of indoor air quality testing.  

Biomedical / Environmental Health & Safety Consulting & Field Testing With Industrial Hygiene & Microbiology expertise

Dallas Green Building Clearance Services – Certificate of Occupancy IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) VOC measurements for Dallas Green Building Ordinance Post-Construction with regards to Pre-Occupancy baseline IAQ testing Section 804.2.

In a rush to test your property for radon gas or radioactivity in natural stone such as granite or marble? Did you know that radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer? (Smoking is 1st and radon gas synergistically increases mortality rates for smokers)

While it is not well known, radon gas levels EXCEED EPA action limits of 4 picoCuries/liter (pCi/L) in up to 10 % of all homes in Dallas county with an additional 14 % falling into the marginal range of 2 – 4 pCi/L. This means that 1 out of 4 homes (10 % + 14 % = 24%) in Dallas either have a radon issue or fall into a caution category. Other counties, such as Tarrant, Collin and Denton are not immune either. (see the link below on Radon FAQ from ScanTech for more details)

Example areas of the Metroplex (not a complete or comprehensive list) which have been found by ScanTech testing to have excess radon levels which are statistically higher than the 24 % quoted above include:

  • North Dallas and Far North Dallas
  • Lake Highlands
  • University Park
  • Highland Park
  • Park Cities area
  • Richardson
  • Arlington

ScanTech now has the capability to test and get results within as little as 24 hours of initial deployment using a high quality digital tester.

Our services are both faster and cheaper than competing methods or companies and we have been performing radon testing for homeowners in the DFW area for over 10 years.

Testing is performed by an engineering graduate experienced in radioactivity measurements,  indoor air quality testing including mold inspection, formaldehyde and radon gas testing.

AARST NRPP National Radon Testing Professional Certified

AARST-NRPP Nationally Certified Radon Residential Measurement Provider ID # 108991 RT* including Advanced Multi-Family & Large Buildings Radon Measurement MAMF-2017

*Meets HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and GSA requirements

Mold Assessment Consultant – Texas Dept. of Health Service License # MAC1387 (now licensed by TDLR (Texas Dept. of Licensing & Registration)

(Activated charcoal short term radon test kits are accurate as well, but typically require at least 4 business days to get results under best case conditions and a complete kit deployment and pickup service is almost always more expensive due to the additional travel)

Call / text to 214.912.4691 – please include physical address, square footage property and email

More information is available here:

RADON FAQ Dallas /Fort Worth — DFW North Texas Area

http://www.indoorairqualitytestingdallas.com/

http://www.scantech7.com/formaldehyde-indoor-air-quality-testing-services-dallas-fort-worth/

Radon Deaths United States Annually

Annual Radon Deaths Updated Chart

Texas CMIS Mold Information Sheet

Cities for radon / air quality inspection services include: Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Spring, The Woodlands, Round Rock, Plano, Highland Park, University Park, Park Cities, Arlington, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Frisco, Denton, McKinney, Allen, Lewisville, Irving, Mesquite, Bedford, Euless, Richardson, Coppell, Grand Prairie, Garland, Addison, Farmers Branch, Rockwall, Carrollton, Parker, Rowlett, Lucas, Fairview, Park Cities, Keller, Roanoke, The Colony, Highland Village, Lake Dallas, Corinth, Prosper, Duncanville, Lancaster, Rowlett, Royse City, Trophy Club, Southlake and Hurst. Counties served include Dallas, Collin, Denton, Tarrant and Rockwall County.

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Phone: (214).912.4691      https://emfsurvey.com

ScanTech Technical Consulting: Professional Electromagnetic EMF EMI Testing for Biomedical Implant & Equipment, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Testing & Environmental Inspections

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Radon Gas Testing Methods & Equipment

There are a variety of ways to monitor the radon levels in a residence, home or commercial building and the best detector for your needs depends on balancing cost, accuracy, ease of use and type of application such as a long or short term test.

The chart below gives a comparison of different detectors including the time period duration during which radon is measured.

Comparison of Different Radon Detection Methods

Comparison of Different Radon Detection Methods

Radon & Radioactivity Measurement Safety Guide

Measuring radioactivity from radon is potentially very confusing for the lay person for several reasons. One of which is that there are several different units of measurement depending on the application, era of standards and preference based on world regionalisms. Applications include activity, (which radon measurement falls under) absorbed dose, which is the measure of radioactive energy absorbed by tissue per unit mass and dose equivalent which is the measure of absorbed doses from DIFFERENT types of radioactivity such as alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Many scintillation meters still measure this in the older measurement unit rem (Roentgen Equivalent Man) or microrems for gamma radiation.

For instance, when measuring radon, North America prefers to use the picoCuries per liter (pCi/L) designation as opposed to Becquerels  or Bq / meter^3 which is typically used in Europe and the UK. These both measure a specific number of atomic disintegrations per volume of space.

In the case of the Becquerel, this is 1 atomic disintegration per second or 60 events per minute. For a picoCurie, this is translated as 2.2 radioactive disintegrations per minute. A convenient conversion chart is shown below.

Just as a quick conversion from the picoCurie/liter to the Becquerel / m^3:

1 picoCurie / liter = ~ 37.1 Bq/m^3     EPA action limit 4 pCi/L = ~ 148.4 Bq/m^3

Units of Measurement for Radioactivity and Dose

Units of Measurement for Radioactivity and Dose

As an added note, a little known unit of radon is what is known as a Working Level (WL) which is the quantity of radon that will produce 1.3 X 10^5 MeV (Mega Electron Volts) of potential alpha particle energy per liter of air. A single WL of radon is equal to the RDP’s (Radon Decay Products) in equilibrium with 100 pCi/L of radon. Because the equilibrium value for RDP’s for indoor environments is typically 0.5, radon concentrations of 1 WL would be around 200 pCi/L.

Houston, Austin, Dallas Radiation Surveys and Testing Nuclear / Ionizing including NORM, TENORM

EMF Survey RF Magnetic – Electric Field – Radiation – Laser – NIRAD – Sound & Noise Safety Levels Testing: PART 1

Radon: The Radioactivity Decay Pathway

Below is a detailed chart showing the radioactivity pathway to radon from the original U-238 atom. Also shown are the different types of radiation:

Alpha Radiation – (from Radon-222 as an example) high energy helium nuclei (almost no penetrating power, but does a great deal of damage at close range to cells and DNA – will not penetrate outer layer of skin, but can cause direct harm to epithelial cells in the lungs if inhaled) It causes approximately 5 X the damage of gamma Radiation or X-Rays.

Beta Radiation –  high energy electron (much lighter than an alpha particle but it has a greater penetration)

Gamma Radiation – high energy photon (essentially without mass but has a high penetration factor through shielding)

Penetration and of Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radiation

Penetration and of Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radiation

If you follow the diagram below, the radioactive decay of Radon-222 to Lead-210 results in the emission of 3 alpha particles, 2 beta particles and a discrete amount of gamma radiation. (the nature of which is an electromagnetic wave, not a particle) Because radon decay products (RDPs) are electrically charged particles, they readily adhere to suspended dust particles (which can be inhaled) or other surfaces in a phenomena known as “plate-out”. Either pure RDPs or the particles they are attached to can be inhaled.

 

Radon gas decay pathway

Radon Gas Decay Chart