Should I test for radon when buying a home in Rhode Island?

Yes. I recommend radon testing for essentially every home purchase in Rhode Island, and the same goes for Massachusetts. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps up from the soil and bedrock into homes, and it is common throughout New England because of our local geology. You cannot see it or smell it, and the only way to know a home's levels is to test.

Radon is measured in picocuries per liter, or pCi/L. The EPA action level is 4.0 pCi/L, and at or above that reading it recommends installing a mitigation system. Testing is usually a simple add-on to your general home inspection, often ordered at the same time. The inspector places a test device, typically in the lowest livable level of the home such as a basement, and it runs for a set period before the results come back.

Here is the reassuring part: even if a home tests high, it is a very fixable problem. A radon mitigation system is essentially a pipe and fan that vents the gas from below the foundation up and out above the roofline. Installation commonly runs in the low four figures, so it is far cheaper than most of the big-ticket items an inspection can uncover. Because it is fixable, radon results are very negotiable. Many buyers ask the seller to install a system or provide a credit if levels come back at or above the action level.

A couple of practical notes. Radon can also enter through well water in some homes, which is a separate test worth considering if the property is on a private well. And a home that already has a mitigation system is not a red flag, it just means a prior owner handled it, though you should confirm the system is working and consider a fresh test.

Given how common radon is here and how inexpensive the test is relative to the risk, skipping it rarely makes sense. If you are getting ready to buy, our buyer page has more, or contact David to make sure radon is on your inspection list.