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Mitigating Indoor Radon In Homes Built On Stone Foundations

The most common method of radon mitigation is sub-slab depressurization, which is designed to neutralize the negative air pressure (the vacuum of air rising from the lowest area of the home upward), thus pulling the radon from the ground.  By generating a vacuum below the floor sitting on the soil, we are able to pull the radon back into the ground.

Sub-slab depressurization systems are primarily a one dimensional solution, i.e. only mitigating radon emanating from below the floor.  Homes built on a stone foundation have a second source of emanation (the stones, themselves), which SSD systems will have no mitigating influence on.

Note:  This is also the case as it refers to dirt floor crawl spaces open to the basement that have inadequate height to seal with a plastic membrane.

The use of a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) can be of assistance toward mitigation efforts.  HRV systems are air exchange mechanisms which move indoor air out and outdoor air in, while reducing some of the heat loss during cold weather.  The use of a HRV has somewhat of a limitation.  They will tend to reduce indoor radon by approximately 50 percent, which may be inadequate.  In some cases, the combination use of the HRV along with a SSD may be the most effective solution to reducing the radon below 4 pCi/L.