New law requires radon reduction in newly built homes
Any new homes built in Minnesota June 1 or later will have to be built with radon mitigation under a new state law.
The law was adopted after research at Minnesota State University here showed high levels of the gas in homes around Mankato.
Cecil Keen, a professor in the geography department at the university, has personal experience with radon in his Mankato home.
Keen did a radon test in the basement when he moved in and found the levels were "off the charts," he said.
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At the time, he hired a contractor for $1,500 to install a pipe and fan system to vent the gas from under the basement slab out through the roof.
Home builders will only be required to install a passive system in which pipes are installed under the basement slab and piped up to the roof, allowing natural draft to pull the gas upward.
While Keen had hoped to see the law require builders to install an active system, he hopes some will do it anyway.
"If you're a good builder and have a conscience and a heart, you'd put in that extra $100 for the fan," Keen said.
The Minnesota Department of Health is encouraging builders to install active systems by giving them a certificate with a special designation for homes that add it.
When the new regulations take effect, the cost of a new home will likely increase by up to $1,000, depending on its size and the type of installation.
While home builders often look down on added regulations, the president of the Minnesota River Builders Association said he thinks the new law is justified.
"The Mankato area is high in radon. It's not that much of a cost," said Steve Meister, who is also a contractor in Mankato. "It's a safety precaution. It protects builders, too, from being sued by someone for not keeping radon out."
According to the World Health Organization, 15 percent of all lung cancers are caused by radon. It causes about 1,000 Minnesotans to die prematurely each year.
About two-thirds of the 2,000 homes tested in Mankato as part of the MSU Radon Project have radon levels above those recommended by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Experts think the fractured limestone along the Minnesota River Valley likely allows more of the gas - a natural byproduct of the radioactive decay of uranium in the ground - to seep up.
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Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
