Protecting Your Home From Radon Gas

So you've glanced over your home and addressed all the safety risks such as lead paint and asbestos, but what about the dangers you can't see.

Here we have a typical Sioux Empire basement...but something is lurking in the air you can't see or smell...and what makes this scene so scary is the fact that most people don't even know they have it...a radioactive gas called radon.

"Actually South Dakota know much this it's an up and coming thing that people are just now becoming aware of,"said Co-President of Radon Mitigation Systems, Mike Hartman.

So what is radon? Well, it's a by product of uranium decomposing in the soil . It's a  colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, but the most important thing you need to know...According to the EPA Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.

"If you walked into a bar before the smoking ban you could smell and taste the smoke. It's a physical presence where as with Radon you don't have that," says Hartman.

And testing for Radon is easy. You can purchase a kit at most local hardware stores for about $20. You send the test off to a lab and if you test positive Mike comes in to put in a Mitigation system... basically a fancy vacuum cleaner that vents the gas from your home to the outside.

It's a pretty simple process, it only takes Mike about 4 hours. And with a matter of a few tools and and a little PVC glue...you get to this guy. And that blows all the radioactive gases to the roof.

"This is something very important. I like to think of myself as helping people stay healthy," says, Mike Hartman.

Clearing the air of a silent killer you didn't even know was there.

If your home tested positive for radon, a mitigation system costs 900 to 1,200 dollars.