A Kentucky family found out the hard way that tenants in the state are under no legal obligation to disclose radon information, including testing results that prove there are elevated radon levels – if they even have any results available.
“We didn’t get any information from the office that there were any issues with radon, so we just assumed that, because it was new construction, everything would be OK and everything was up to code,” said local resident Nikki Edwards. “We didn’t know as renters that they didn’t have to check that.”
The Edwards’ family had to make a quick move to Lexington Kentucky, after Mr. Edwards landed a new job in the area. They picked out a home to rent for themselves and their five children, choosing one in the McConnell Trace subdivision.
Kentucky Family Discovers Elevated Radon Levels Inside Rental Home
Photo by Jason Phillips
LEX 18 – the media group behind the original story – investigated by installing a radon detector in the Edwards’ home in order to get some idea of what the radon levels were inside. It returned readings in excess of 12 pCi/L, which is well over three times the recommended action limit as set by the U.S. EPA (4.0 pCi/L).
Unfortunately, elevated radon levels are quite prevalent all over the state of Kentucky despite a lack of legislation in place to protect homeowners, renters and residents. In fact, according to Kyle Hoylman, president of the Kentucky Association of Radon Professionals there are absolutely no state laws in place in protecting renters from radon.
“There are no requirements for landlords to build radon-passive construction design into new construction, or notify tenants moving in that they should have a radon test, or radon levels exist if they do know about them.”
Homes With Elevated Radon Levels Can Be Extremely Hazardous
One might get the impression that radon isn’t a big issue, considering lawmakers don’t spend a lot of time addressing the situation. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, responsible for the deaths of more than 20,000 Americans each year. Since long-term exposure is what causes the most damage, those affected are clearly living under contaminated living conditions for a long time. That means, most of them have no idea radon is even a problem, let alone that it’s collected in great amounts inside their home.
Radon is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that’s virtually indetectable. It seeps up from the soil and rock in the ground, released as a natural decay product of uranium and other common elements. Once inside a home it collects in great amounts, and because it’s so dense it generally remains on the lowest levels. That doesn’t mean it can’t seep elsewhere inside the home.
Elevated Radon Levels Can Be Found In Any Home
Modern construction calls for radon resistant techniques to be used, however all homes are susceptible to radon gas – new and old. Don’t fall into the trap of believing it could never exist in your home. The only way to discover whether or not it’s a problem is to test for it.
Hoylman says that there are an estimated 700 Kentucky residents diagnosed with lung cancer each year, and 500 deaths related to radon gas exposure. Furthermore, over half of all Lexington area homes have elevated radon levels inside – meaning residents are living in contaminated environments.
“Because we don’t have any set of regulations requiring passive control, every single year … I have more homes to fix in Fayette County than I started with at the beginning of the year.”
In other words, as time goes on the problem is only getting worse. Radon awareness needs to become a priority not just in Kentucky, but across the entire country. The more people that know about the problem and have their home tested, the more lives will be saved.
