Radon Handbook pages are written to be accurate, useful, calm and honest about where each fact comes from, and about what a page cannot know. This page sets out how that works and where its limits are.
How a page is made
- Research. We start from primary sources and from our figures register, and note what they do and do not settle.
- Writing. A draft is written from that research under the Radon Handbook name.
- Fact-check. A separate check compares each rule, limit, date, spec and health statement with its source, and reworks every sum on the page.
- Graphics. Any charts or diagrams repeat figures from the text and add no new facts.
- Final review. A last read looks for errors, gaps and unsafe advice. If it finds a serious problem, the page is fixed and reviewed again. We do not publish a page with a serious problem still open.
Each page ends with the date its sources were checked. No process catches everything, so please tell us if you find a mistake.
Our sources
Every limit, date, rule, standard section, spec and health statement links to a primary source at the claim: EPA guides, CDC, the National Cancer Institute, WHO, state laws and radon offices, VA, FHA and HUD documents, ANSI/AARST standards as read, and maker manuals and specification sheets. If we cannot confirm something, we leave it out or say plainly that it is unconfirmed. Our how we check page explains how each kind of fact is handled.
Installed prices are the exception, because no primary source exists for most of them. For those we show named published estimates, each labelled with what it measures, next to our own build-up with its assumptions marked.
Health pages
Health claims come only from CDC (including the ATSDR page on its site), EPA, the National Cancer Institute and WHO. Every health page opens with a note that it is general information and not medical advice, and says that the way to know a home’s level is a test. We do not give a personal risk figure, list symptoms of radon exposure, or give screening, diagnosis or treatment advice. We write calmly, with no fear language and no worst cases for effect. EPA says not everyone exposed will develop lung cancer, and we say so too. How we check gives the reasons.
What we do not claim
- We test no homes and install no systems. We never say “we tested”, “we installed” or “we measured”, and we do not claim to have done the work we describe.
- We do not invent authors, quotes, homeowner stories or installer comments.
- We do not rank testers, installers or products, and we do not call anything “best”. Products are described by type and from their own specification sheets.
- We never call a radon level “safe”, “fine” or “nothing to worry about”. We give EPA’s next step, in EPA’s words where we can.
- We never call a price “fair”. We give estimates, and a quote from a professional prices the real job.
- Photos are stock images chosen to illustrate a topic. They do not show jobs we have done or homes we have seen.
Safety
A radon system moves air out of a home through pipes and a fan on its own wiring, so we follow these rules:
- Test first. No page suggests a fix before a test.
- We never advise switching off a radon fan or blocking its pipe.
- No do-it-yourself wiring steps. Advice on doing the work yourself states what EPA, your state and the standards say, including that some states require a licensed mitigator.
- Sealing alone is not presented as a fix, and opening windows is described as temporary.
- We do not tell anyone to rely on a neighbor’s test or on a zone map in place of a test of their own.
- After a home has been fixed, we repeat EPA’s advice to retest at least every two years.
Fairness
Sellers’ claims are reported as claims, and we do not name a company when we question one. Honest disagreement stays on the page: where EPA’s own documents or EPA and a standard differ, we show both. Sometimes the honest answer is that a result needs a second test before anyone spends money.
Calculators
Our calculators are formulas with named inputs and shown working, and each formula is checked against answers worked by hand before it goes live. Every default that is a rate, spec or price says where it comes from, or that it is our assumption, and you can change it. They give estimates, never a verdict, and they print numbers only, so read the notes on the page around them.
Updates and corrections
Rules, health statements and offers change, so pages are rechecked on the schedule set out on our how we check page, and sooner when a source they rely on changes. A page shows an updated date only when its content really changed. Errors are fixed and recorded on our corrections page.
Sister sites
We sometimes link to two sister sites: Lowest Floor for sump lids and basement water, and CostPlain for crawl space work. They are connected to us, which is why we call them sister sites. They are also funded by display ads, so a visit there can earn ad money too. Neither sells leads or makes referrals.
Advertising and independence
Display advertising pays for this site, and advertisers have no say over what we publish. We use no affiliate links, accept no paid placements, sell no leads, give no quotes and make no referrals. We sell nothing and install nothing. Our about page has more on how the site works.