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Radon News                                               

 August 11th, 2013         


CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THE NEW FLORIDA MOLD LICENSING LAW, State Of Florida Passes New Mold Licensing Law Effective July 1st, 2011.


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10-Tips To Radon Mitigation In South West Florida


Click Here - Radon and Cancer: Questions and Answers / National Cancer Institute


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                                                                              HOT OFF THE PRESS!


Foreclosed homes putting others at risk - ( Mold Related Story )

FORT MYERS, Fla --A new foreclosure crisis: damage left behind putting other homes at risk of foreclosure, too. ( Source Wink News Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 )

Jan Swanson thought she'd live in her home the rest of her life. But a few weeks ago, she discovered something unsettling: a bad smell. When her neighbor walked away from his condo unit, somehow, water leaked out saturating everything and leaving behind evasive mold."So this is what's right next door to me," Jan told Call for Action as she pointed out the mold growing in the home next to her. That same wall where the mold is growing is shared by her unit. Jan told WINK NEWS she worries, "It will eat up this townhouse since I have the greatest connection with the townhouse behind me that flooded, mine is going to be the first one to go." Once the mold enters her home, Jan says she'll have no choice, but to walk. "It's kind of an overwhelming loss," said Jan, "With the economy I'm really not working. I haven't had a full time job since July and now I'm looking at losing my property and it's depressing." It's hard for code enforcement to hold anyone responsible. Legally, the person who walked away still owns the property. Often banks wait to take ownership until just before they go to sell to avoid being responsible for years worth of homeowners association dues. That's because Florida law only holds banks responsible for paying homeowners association dues for up to six months before the bank takes ownership."It feels kind of unfair for code enforcement to step in and try to write somebody who's lost their job, and who's losing their home, a ticket," said Fort Myers Code Enforcement Manager Michael Titmuss, "Banks need to be held accountable to a certain thresh hold."

Read more: http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2010-06-01/Foreclosed-homes-putting-others-at-risk#ixzz0peezDIWs


Radon In Building Materials - Charlotte NC - Latta Pavilion Condominiums Solve Radon Problem With Help of National Experts

Posted on: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 09:04 PM. Charlotte, Source - http://charlotte.dbusinessnews.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Residents of the Condominiums at Latta Pavilion, 1320 Fillmore Ave. in Charlotte, have solved a challenging radon problem with the help of national experts and a $700,000 investment in a new ventilation system. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that is found throughout the world. In many homes radon levels become elevated. Radon can be as carcinogenic as second-hand smoke if it is concentrated. The EPA recommends everyone test the radon levels in their home. High levels of radon first showed in one of the Latta Pavilion condominiums during a routine test requested by a potential buyer of a condominium, said Larry Tilson, president of the condominium's executive board. Subsequent testing found that the problem existed throughout the entire building. Going through this discovery and resolution was a challenging experience, but we believe our remediation puts us ahead of the curve as we learn about other concrete-constructed, energy-efficient buildings discovering similar radon problems. Searching for a solution to the problem led the condominium board to Bill Brodhead of Riegelsville, PA, widely regarded as one of the leading radon experts in the country and a frequent speaker at meetings of radon testing professionals. Radon is fairly common in the homes in many parts of the country, Brodhead said. The standard solution to reduce radon levels in a home is to depressurize the soil beneath the basement, crawlspace, or slab with a custom ventilation system. However, in multi-story buildings the key to reducing the radon levels to well below the EPA action level (requiring corrective action) is to increase the ventilation rate to established national guideline levels. Latta Pavilion successfully used this approach. In Charlotte as well as other areas of the country, multi-story condominiums are typically constructed with concrete floors and ceilings, Brodhead explained. The ventilation rate of these condominiums is often very low because of this construction style and the use of energy-conserving, air-tight windows and sliding glass doors. All concrete tends to emit some radon. The combination of very low air change rates in the condominium and large exposures of concrete floors and ceilings caused the radon levels at Latta Pavilion to be elevated above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/l (pico-Curies per liter). The condominium association hired RDK Engineering of Charlotte to engineer a new central air solution, with Brodhead providing technical guidance. Two new high-capacity heating and air-conditioning units were installed on the roof of the building, and insulated ductwork now continuously brings in outdoor air to every unit and common area hallways. Every one of the 100 units in our building has been certified to have radon levels well below the EPA action level, Tilson noted. In addition we have fresh, temperature-controlled air entering each unit at all times. This reduces unit heating and air costs, and also eliminates moisture build-up and other problems that can result from too-tight construction and inadequate ventilation. The Condominiums at Latta Pavilion (www.LattaPavilion.com) are located at 1320 Fillmore Avenue in Charlotte's historic Dilworth neighborhood.

Home Radon May Have Tie To Childhood Leukemia

NEW YORK JUL 18, 2008 (Reuters Health) - Children who live in homes with high radon levels may be at increased risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia during childhood, but not other childhood cancers, research from Denmark suggests. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of infection-fighting white blood cells. Outside of fetal exposure to X-rays and genetic conditions, the causes or risk factors associated with childhood ALL are poorly understood. Higher rates of childhood cancer, and particularly leukemia, have been observed in geographic regions with higher levels of radon -- a natural radioactive gas that emanates from soils and can concentrate inside houses. Yet, studies assessing links between breathing radon gas and the risk for childhood cancer have yielded mixed results. Against this backdrop, Dr. Ole Raaschou-Nielsen of the Institute for Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, and colleagues looked at the lifetime radon exposures of 2,400 children who had been diagnosed with cancer between 1968 and 1994, and 6,697 cancer-free children. All the children were born and living in Denmark, and were age 15 or younger. One-year radon measurements from regions in which the children lived were used to predict cumulative radon exposure. The researchers found that children exposed to "intermediate" levels of radon had a 21 percent higher risk of developing ALL relative to children exposed to the lowest levels of radon. Children with the highest radon exposures had a 63 percent greater risk of ALL relative to those with the least exposure. These associations held up in further analyses that factored in other characteristics potentially associated with increased cancer risk, such as mother's age, birth order, traffic density around the home, electromagnetic field exposures, and the building type of each home. Raaschou-Nielsen and colleagues, who report their findings in the medical journal Epidemiology, say they have no obvious biological explanation for the suggested association between radon exposure and ALL. In related commentary, Dr. Andrew F. Olshan, at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, cautions that these findings may just be a signal to devise long-term, progressively refined studies that may or may not reveal definitive answers. "The etiology of childhood cancer has remained elusive, especially with regard to possible environmental influences," Olshan noted. SOURCE: Epidemiology, July 2008

Alzheimers & Parkinsons Could the Cause be Radon?

(PRWEB)In a study conducted at the University of North Dakota, researchers discovered that the presence of radioactive radon daughters in the brains of non-smoking persons with Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease was 10 times greater than it was in the brains of persons with no previous evidence of neurological disorders. Professor Glenn Lykken and Dr. Berislav Momcilovic assert their study demonstrates that indoor radon gas has the capacity to irreversibly infest the brain with the poisonous progeny of radioactive heavy metals.

Recently revised EPA risks assessments estimate 21,000 Americans die annually from radon induced lung cancer, 150% higher than their 1994 estimate. However, scientists are increasingly suspicious that radon may be linked to disease in other parts of the body as well.

When inhaled, radon gas accumulates in lipid tissue throughout the body with the highest concentration in the brain, bone marrow, and nervous system. Additionally, one-third of the inhaled radon decay products (radioactive particles produced when the gas decays) pass from the lungs into the blood stream indicating that the gas does not flow quickly in and out of the lungs, but lingers in the body.

Previous study at UND determined that once radon is rapidly absorbed into the body from the lung, a fraction accumulates in the brain resulting in increased gamma ray emissions from bismuth-214 (one of the radioactive radon decay products) and altered EEG signals.

While radon is a lipid-soluble gas that can move freely in and out of the brain despite the blood-brain barrier, none of the transmuted heavy metal radon daughters are soluble in the lipids, meaning they remain trapped in the brain where they emit gamma radiation and alpha particles resulting in both radiation and chemical injury to the brain cells.

Of keen interest was the unexpected discovery that the radioactivity selectively accrues to the brain proteins in the Alzheimers victims and to the brain lipids in the Parkinsons victims. This pathognomonic distribution was inferred to reflect the increase of local chlorine availability to which the radon daughters bound selectively.

Once present, the most likely candidate for radiation injury appears to be the highly radiosensitive astrocytes rather than the more radioresistant neurons, which do not divide. Other studies have indicated the astrocytes may be involved in Alzheimers disease and the amyloid deposits and neurofibrillatory tangling observed with Alzheimers may well reflect the response to radiation injury of the astrocytes.

Interestingly enough, the geographic distribution of Parkinsons disease mortality is considerably higher in states with greater radon potential, according to research by D.J. Lansak of the University of Kentucky and published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences.

An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimers disease, the number having doubled in the last 25 years. An estimated 1.5 million Americans have Parkinsons disease with 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

University of North Dakota researchers are looking for more funding to continue their research. To access the study in its entirety, please go to www.radonnews.org or the Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders Magazine. Contact: Professor G.I. Lykken at UND at (701) 777 3519.

 

                                                                                    "Do It Yourself Products"

We have received several inquiries regarding the purchase of radon mitigation fans and accessories. Unfortunately we do not sell these products to consumers. However, click this link to go to INFILTEC. Here you can purchase fans and accessories.

This month we have seen a rise in residential radon mitigation. More and more people who are buying homes in Florida are requesting a radon test be part of the home inspection process. If you are planning on buying a home in Florida you may want to consider a radon test. To obtain radon levels in Florida by zip code CLICK HERE for the FL DOH web site. Or if you are in Florida call 1-800-543-8279. Outside of Florida call 1-850-488-1525.

If you would like more information about radon in Florida contact the Florida Dept. Of Health Indoor Air & Radon at 1-800-543-8279. Or Visit the FL DOH web site.       

                                                                                               

With an increase in the number of radon tests being performed public awareness has increased on the health effects associated with radon exposure. More and more relocation companies, banks, finance companies and mortgage companies are requiring radon testing and mitigation if necessary prior to purchasing any residential occupied property.

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If you have any questions regarding radon or radon mitigation please feel free to e-mail Gene Yacobacci at Gene@radonandmold.com

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