Geeeeeze, the SWMO house search begins again.

[Randy Henderson]

You aren't foolish at all. The well test isn't something that I generally worry about, especially on new construction. If water hasn't been turned on for a while, who knows what is sitting in the pipes that might get into the sample. At the very worst, you can install a uv light that all of the water runs under on its way to the house. It will kill all of the germs and bad things.

Radon on the other hand... Most studies will tell you that Radon is the single greatest cause of lung cancer behind cigarette smoking. Although there are mitigation devices that work quite well (I looked at one operation last week), I would look for another home.

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by Indy4570

well Garth, I'm sorry about your situation. But it has done something for me and I'm sure others as well. Upon reading about your plight I took it upon myself to investigate radon and it sources and effects. I do have a question, was radon found in the well water ? The verdict as far as the Finnish people are concerned is still out on radon. It seems our own EPA did studies based upon miners and the exposure levels to them was of course much higher than non-miners. Kinda like when they say smokers get lung cancer from radon more than non-smokers....uh...Ok... so did they die from smoking or radon? But we all know that our EPA has never made any mistakes for political or economic reasons of it's own...ahem....But back to the subject, Radon it seems is from the decay of uranium and is found virtually anywhere and everywhere. It would seem that alot of the information out there on the subject is provided by companies with a product to sell you to solve your "radon Problem". But I do thank you for sharing your plight and wish you tons of luck finding what you want. I search real estate in the SW Missouri area daily so I will let you know if I find something you might like. Feel free to send me a PM with more specific areas and specifications if You like, I know you want acreage and room for the RV. Good Luck Garth

I will be happy to provide the url for the Finnish study if anyone wants it

I'm beginning to think it's bogus too Indy. If it were such a threat to health, why did people live until ripe old age in North Dakota with radon seeping up all around them? Miners certainly wouldn't be in conditions remotely similar to those of regular people going about their daily lives.

[NOLA2SGF]

I looked up "radon" yesterday, and somewhere (maybe Wikipedia?) it mentioned that false radon results can happen. It suggested repeating bad tests. But it also said that results like those Garth saw which were verified were clearly unacceptable.

[Indy4570]

when I read the stats about the tons of money that have been spent since "the radon problem" popped into out lives it was staggering. A whole new industry has arisen from the very ground where radon comes from! one site said if you dug up one acre six feet down you would come up with 50 pounds of uranium. The article from Finland was very interesting and posed some good points as to our EPA's methods used to come to their conclusions. this is the url ; http://www.ncpa.org/pd/pdenv40.html (broken link) the site is called National Center For Policy Analysis

I also read that the best testing method was a device that was left for a period of days and then sent back to the company and studied to determine monthly exposure rates. It would seem a test such as this would be impossible to do in the short time that Garth had found the house. In any case I think without certain knowledge the decision to abandon the purchase was the best way to go

[garth]

It looks like there's been some discussion going on here. I hope it's opened some people's eyes to this issue, one way or ther other. I've been rather busy making the rounds to find something else so I haven't been around that much to contribute.

BTW, I was told that radon testing as part of the inspection process was rather rare in this neck of the woods. Many people don't do it. It seemed that some people don't care that much about it or haven't heard anything to concern them. That surprised me.

Here's a link to an interesting document about radon, and certain mitigation sudies. I found it during some recent searches. http://www.toolbase.org/PDF/CaseStud...on_methods.pdf

What surprised me in my reading was that builders, nationwide, could easily do a few cheap things to make their hosues healthier at very little cost. It's called passive mitigation but they're not doing it as a rule. This inexpensive practice would solve small radon problems in most homes and then provide the required pipes if more severe mitigation efforts wer required.

BTW, the water issue that was found involved a coliform infestation. There's two types. One that comes from feces, the other that comes from the natural environment.

As I understand coliform is not uncommon in new construction where the pipes have been unused for a long time. The water just sits and festers over time. It's solved by shocking, flushing and then regular use. However, there's also a chance that it's coming from a nearby broken spetic system or a close cattle ranch from the cows' products. Those situations require more intensive treatment.

So, we're still searching. Actually, we've got a bead on a "pocket listing" that's not in the MLS. We're hoping to see it tomorrow.

Talk with y'all later.