Radon Home Test Kits from AccuStar Save Lives

A recent article in the New York Times discusses the conundrum of keeping a house tightly sealed for the winter to save energy, while minimizing the build up of indoor air quality hazards like radon.  A representative from the EPA estimates that about 20,000 people die from radon-induced lung cancer every year and explains that radon gas can seep out of the soil and through cracks in a home’s basement floor.  Covering these cracks is, at best, minimally effective.  It is recommended that home buyers test their potential homes for radon with a home radon test kit before purchasing. Radon remediation is recommended if the radon test measures a level of 4 pico Curies per liter (pCi/L) or more.  There are several types of radon tests: long-term and short-term.  According to the New York Times, a recent Consumer Reports article recommends the AccuStar Alpha Track Test Kit AT 100 as the best buy for a long-term radon kit.  Carolyn Allen, the president of AccuStar, said her company’s kit measures radon levels over 3 to 12 months and “since levels of radon fluctuate naturally, the more data you collect, the better.”