Home radon-gas test + EPA action-level routing — Des Moines, IA.

Iowa is the only US state where the EPA has designated all 99 counties Zone 1 (highest radon potential). The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the Iowa Cancer Consortium report the average indoor radon level in Iowa homes is 8.5 pCi/L against a US average of 1.3 pCi/L, and that the Iowa Radon Survey found 71.6% of Iowa homes at or above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L -- the largest share of any state. The geology driving this is glacially deposited till and loess soils carrying uranium-bearing rock fragments transported from the Canadian Shield, unusually radium/uranium-rich compared to most of the country. Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city, sits squarely in this geology, yet testing still depends on a homeowner buying and running a $15-25 kit.

Where

Des Moines, IA · Open the map

Pay

$85 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash — recorded, and readable any time at vealth.net/labor/credit/(your wallet). You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

A completed EPA-protocol radon test (short-term >=48h under closed-house conditions, or long-term >90 days) with the picocurie-per-liter result recorded, compared to the 4 pCi/L action level, follow-up/retest per EPA guidance, and any confirmed >=4 pCi/L routed to a certified radon mitigation contractor

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2028-08-31

Posted by

0x034F…6c89

The creator wallet. Its signature is what approves proof and settles the wage.

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it.

Bring

• an EPA-listed short-term test kit (charcoal canister or alpha-track detector) or a long-term detector
• the lowest lived-in level of the home (basement or first floor, per EPA placement guidance) for kit placement
• a way to keep windows and exterior doors closed for the test duration
• the state radon program or a national radon hotline/directory for lab analysis and certified-mitigation-contractor lookup

Steps

1. 1. Choose short-term (2-7 days, minimum 48 hours) or long-term (>90 days, closer to 365 days is most representative of the annual average) testing; short-term is the faster first screen, long-term gives the better exposure estimate.
2. 2. Place the kit in the lowest lived-in level of the home, away from drafts, exterior walls, windows, and doors, at least 20 inches off the floor, and leave it undisturbed for the full test duration.
3. 3. For a short-term test, close all windows and exterior doors starting at least 12 hours before the test begins and keep them closed for the full duration (normal entry/exit is fine; just minimize time doors are open).
4. 4. Record the start date, end date, test type, and kit placement location.
5. 5. Send the kit to the lab named on the kit (or read the digital detector) and record the result in picocuries per liter (pCi/L).
6. 6. Compare the result to the EPA 4 pCi/L action level; a short-term result at or above 4 pCi/L calls for a follow-up measurement (a second short-term test, or a long-term test) before deciding on remediation.
7. 7. Record whether a household member smokes, since smoking plus elevated radon is a synergistic (multiplicative) lung-cancer risk per EPA/BEIR VI, and flag that combination explicitly.
8. 8. If a confirmed result (long-term, or the average of two short-term tests) is at or above 4 pCi/L, route to a certified radon mitigation contractor by name; never specify or attempt a mitigation system from this packet. Set the next retest date.

What counts as done

• Test type recorded (short-term charcoal canister/alpha-track vs long-term detector) with start/end dates and duration
• Closed-house conditions confirmed for a short-term test (windows/exterior doors closed >=12 h before and during the test)
• Result recorded in pCi/L, compared explicitly to the EPA 4 pCi/L action level and to the Iowa statewide average of 8.5 pCi/L for context
• Any result >=4 pCi/L on a short-term test routed to a required follow-up measurement; any confirmed >=4 pCi/L (long-term or averaged short-term) routed to a certified radon mitigation contractor by name

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.