Jane Ford-Stewart

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

If you live in southeastern Wisconsin, chances are you're living in a house with cancer-causing radon at levels higher than federal health officials recommend.

Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers nationwiide, national health officials said, and Now New Group staff at Milwaukee Jouhas looked at readings in the Milwaukee suburbs

An estimated 20,000 non-smokers die every year of lung cancer caused by radon exposure, according to reports by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Surgeon General, said Darren Rausch, director of the health department in Greenfield where 70 percent of homes tested were in the unsafe zone above 4 pCi/L (picocurries per liter)

Radon is an odorless, radioactive gas that is naturally present in the ground. Rausch said it enters homes through small cracks in the foundation, openings around joints and pipes, and through dirt floors, he said. Both old and newer homes can be susceptible to radon.

The creeping threat is particularly prevalent in Lannon, where nine of the 10 homes tested were found to be in the unsafe zone, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website. The unsafe zone is a reading of 4 or more picocurries per liter (pCi/L), the standard set by federal health officials.

Similar heavy concentrations, where 70 percent or more of tested homes had readings higher than four, were recorded in Hartland where 73.5 percent of tested homes were in the action zone of 4 pCi/L or higher; part of Greenfield, 71.9 percent of tested homes; Sussex at 71.4 percent; Richfield, 70.8 percent; and Hales Corners, 70.5 percent.

The lowest percentages in southeastern Wisconsin, all less than 30 percent of tested homes, were in three communities — part of Wauwatosa where only 28.6 percent of tested homes were above the action threshold, and in parts of West Milwaukee and West Allis, both at 28.5 percent, according to the state website.

The site tracked home testing from 1995 to 2016.

The highest singe reading in southeastern Wisconsin was recorded in the 53217 zip code, including Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, Bayside and other parts of the North Shore. That reading was 210 pCi/L. While that reading was massively higher than the standard of less than 4, fewer than one out of three homes tested showed readings higher than the federal standard, according to the state website.

However, that state data can be somewhat misleading, said Kala Hardy, a nurse at the North Shore Health Department who works in its radon program.

"It's not a good representation of communities," she said. It reports results only in homes that were tested, she said.

Testing is completely voluntary on the part of homeowners.

Because Greenfield leads Milwaukee County in terms of radon prevalence, its health department is urging homeowners to test their homes for radon during January, national Radon Action Month.

“Radon is an easily mitigated heath risk,” Rausch said.

Am I in a high-radon community?

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services tracked home radon testing from 1995 to 2016 and has put the results on its website, organized by zip code. The percentage shows the proportion of homes that were tested where the results were 4 pCi/L or above:

Brookfield: percentage of tested homes that tested higher than the safe standard during those years was 65.1 percent, with the highest reading being 56.8 pCi/L

Ashippun: no results listed

Butler: 78.9 percent of tested homes tested higher than the safe standard, with the highest reading 44.5 pCi/L

Cedarburg: 54.1 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 94.8

Chenequa Zip Code 53029: 73.5 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 190

Chenequa Zip Code 53058: 72.9 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 126.8

Cudahy: 36.7 percent of tested homes had results that were too high; highest reading, 30.7

Delafield: 68 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 101.7

Dousman: 59.5 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 53.6

Eagle: 65 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 57.4

Elm Grove: 59.7 percent of tested homes tested high; highest reading, 44.5

Franklin: 64.8 percent of tested homes were too high; highest, 77.4

Germantown: 63.3 percent of tested homes were too high; highest reading, 52.3

Grafton: 52.2 percent; highest, 129.1

Greendale: 51.6 percent ; highest reading 31

Greenfield Zip Code 53228: 72 percent of tested homes were too high; highest reading, 57

Greenfield Zip Code 53220: 65 percent; highest reading, 93.3

Hales Corners: 70.5 percent; highest reading 45.5

Hartland: 73.5 percent; highest reading, 190

Ixonia: 53.6 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 19.1

Lannon: 90 percent of tested homes were too high; highest, 25.3

Menomonee Falls: 57.4 percent; highest reading, 64.8

Mequon: 43.2 percent; highest, 28

Merton: no results listed

Mukwonago Zip Code 53149: 54.2 percent; highest reading, 68.7

Mukwonago Zip Code 53120: 63.2 percent; highest reading, 55.1

Nashotah Zip Code 53058: 72.9 percent: highest reading, 126.8

New Berlin: 64.2 percent of tested homes were too high; highest reading, 123

North Lake: no results listed

North Prairie: 67.3 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 78.1

North Shore Zip Code 53211 (mainly Shorewood): 21.4 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 25.8

North Shore Zip Code 53212 (small parts of Shorewood and Glendale, mainly Milwaukee): 31.5 percent of tested homes were too high; highest, 157

North Shore Zip Code 53217 (mainly Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, Bayside): 30.4 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 210

North Shore Zip Code 53209 (part of Glendale and Brown Deer): 50 percent of homes: highest, 43

North Shore Zip Code 53223 (part of Brown Deer and Milwaukee): 62.5 percent of tested homes were too high; highest, 40.6

Oak Creek: 67 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 84.9

Oconomowoc and Oconomowoc Lake: 59.8 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 114.3

Okauchee: 73.5 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 190

Pewaukee: 54.3 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 120.3

Port Washington: 51.7 percent; highest reading, 75.7

Richfield: 70.8 percent; highest reading, 50.9

St. Francis: 51.7 percent of tested homes; highest reading, 25

Saukville: 56.2 percent of tested homes tested too high; highest reading, 21.5

South Milwaukee: 54.9 percent of tested homes; highest reading, 84.9

Sussex: 71.4 percent of tested homes; highest reading, 124.2

Thiensville: 42.4 percent; highest reading, 650*

Wales: 62.8 percent; highest reading, 54

Waukesha Zip Code 53186: 51.9 percent of homes tested were too high; 43.9 highest reading

Waukesha Zip Code 53188: 56.4 percent of homes tested were too high; highest reading, 88.3

Waukesha Zip Code 53189: 63.3 percent of homes; highest reading, 74.2

Wauwatosa Zip Code 53222: 46.6 percent of tested homes; highest, 35.5

Wauwatosa Zip Code 53226: 50.4 percent; highest, 48.9

Wauwatosa Zip Code 53213: 28.6 percent; highest 30.3

West Allis Zip Code 53227: 44 percent of tested homes were too high, highest reading 39

West Allis Zip Code 53214: 28.5 percent of tested homes; highest reading 24.8

West Allis Zip Code 53219: 34.3 percent; highest, 25.3

West Milwaukee Zip Code 53214: 28.5 percent of tested homes too high; highest, 24.8

West Milwaukee Zip Code 53219: 34.3 percent of tested homes were too high; highest, 25.3

* Both county and regional radon program officials say the 650 pCi/L test result in Thiensville likely resulted from human error.

To look up your zip code, go to the state webiste: https://bit.ly/2KSATil

But my neighbors' houses tested fine, so am I OK?

Don't think that if your neighbors tested fine that you are safe.

"It varies from home to home," said Steve Todd at the Waukesha-based Southeastern Wisconsin Radon Information Center. Maps that show green dots for homes that tested fine and red dots for homes testing over 4 can be deceptive, he said.

"You can have all green dots on your block and not necessarily be good," he said.

So, what can I do?

The best thing is to get a testing kit from your local health department. Radon testing kits there can cost as little as $5 or $6 from municipal health departments. In some areas, like Waukesha County, residents need to go to the county health department, which sells kits for $10 for short-term testing, $15 for long-term testing. The charges include the $30 processing fee that normally is required on top of the initial cost of a testing kit purchased from a retailer. Greendale sells its radon testing kits to its residents for $10, that is refunded if people come back with the test results.

"The first kit is a screening. It's just a beginning test," said Sue Shepeard, Greendale Health Department director. Because radon levels fluctuate, a long-term testing kit should then be used, she said.

"You don't want to jump into mediation right away, but you do not want gas in your home," she said.

For the long-term tests, health departments such as the West Allis-West Milwaukee Health Department usually direct homeowners to the regional radon center in Waukesha, said West Allis environmental coordinator Laura Temke. Kits there sell for $15 with the only additional cost being postage to send the results to the lab, said Skylar Behm, of the regional radon program. The kits also are available for sale at some health departments and retail stores, she said.

The long-term radon testing kits can be set out for three months to a year, she said.

Now is a good time to test, because homes are shut up for winter, said Steve Todd, of the regional radon information center.

I heard radon fixes are expensive

The average tab seems to be $800 to $1,500, based on the experiences of two certified radon mediation systems installers. Richard Drew, owner of Allis Environmental Services, who has been getting radon out of homes for 20 years, puts his average price at about $1,100. That includes fans that will blow the radon from the basement through piping to be released at roof level. The elevated release ensures that radon won't just come back into the home from an open window, he said.

The most expensive fix he has done is $2,500, he said.

Homes without sump pumps usually trend toward the higher end of the average, said Andrew Krelklow of the Delafield-based Lifetime Radon Solutions.

How do I find a contractor I can trust?

Go to lowradon.org, said Kathy Radloff, director of the Hales Corners Health Department.

"There is a list of certified contractors. They have gone through the training and are certified to do the mitigation," Radloff said.

What if I want to sell my home?

Radon is on a home-sale checklist and these days; many buyers ask that a home be tested, Radloff said. It's like lead testing when you sell your home, said Temke of West Allis.