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Part Two...Taking Measure
Taking
measure
Grubb
forwarded the results to contractor Rodgers
Builders Inc., the original Latta Pavilion contractor.
Bill
Brodhead, president of Riegelsville, Pa.-based radon-mitigation service WPB
Enterprises, was brought in by Rodgers to analyze the
severity of the problem and to help find a cure. "We know there is a
situation there. I can't answer who, where or when."
Because
of local soil conditions,
Charlotte
is not a typical candidate for high levels of radon, a radioactive gas and
carcinogen formed in the rock and soil from the breakdown of uranium. It
occurs naturally and can be found in low levels almost everywhere.
The
gas can also come from building materials such as concrete or stone
fireplaces.
Brodhead
found radon readings in Latta Pavilion units ranging from 5 to 10
picocuries per liter, the unit of measurement that quantifies radioactive
particles. The EPA says radon is dangerous in the home at 4 picocuries per
liter.
He
sent the results to Felix Fong, radon program manager for the N.C.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources' division of radiation
protection in
Raleigh
, because the readings seemed to defy explanation. Radon typically pools
in the lower level of a building because it seeps up from the ground. At
Latta Pavilion, some of the highest readings were on the top floors.
Fong's
explanation: The radon could be generated from the building materials
inside the units. Radon is typically concentrated in areas with lots of
granite, shale and phosphate in the soil. So building materials such as
concrete or stone that originated from an area where radon occurs
naturally at high levels would be a possible source.
If
the radon in Latta Pavilion is coming primarily from building materials,
Fong says the fix will not be easy. "Radon is a mysterious thing. It
can slip in any crack or hole of a house."
Not
so mysterious is the need to find a fix -- and someone to pay for it.
In
a unit where the level of radon measures 8 picocuries, the chance for that
resident to develop lung cancer is 14 out of 1,000, Fong estimates. By
comparison, a pack-a-day smoker faces a 50 in 1,000 chance of developing
lung cancer.
Next: Solving The Problem
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