I AM THE ONLY ILLINOIS LICENSED AND INSURED RADON MEASUREMENT PROFESSIONAL (RMP) IN ALTON, GODFREY, & EDWARDSVILLE*.

Douglas Peterson Illinois Home Inspector License: #450-013310, IL Radon Lic: #RNI 202-52959.

*There are 3 RMP in Madison County, ILLINOIS, population 263,000. There are 8 RMPs in the entire 618 and 730 Area Code.

See the map above to search for radon concentrations by zip code. The radon levels in the western region of Illinois, from the Wisconsin border to the St. Louis, are among the highest levels in the USA. This is because there is abundant Uranium and Radium in the geology. The average measure in this area ranges from 4.2 Pci/l for Madison County with variance to 18.4. Thats an equivalent of 210 chest x-rays per year. Edwardsville average is 4.2, with variance up to 62.4 Pci/l, or 3,120 chest x-rays per year. Areas around Chicago Cook County vary up to 99.4, or about 5,000 chest x-rays per year. That's 14 chest x-rays per day!!

Radon intrusion varies property by property. It is unique to the geography underneath each house, this is why two neightbors might have different measurement levels.

Most measurements in the Collinsville/Alton/Godfrey/Edwardsville Zone (aka CAGE) are over 4.0pCI/L, which is the level where mitigation MUST occur in order to avoid really frightening cancer risks.

Radon is a common noble gas listed on the Periodic Table of the Elements as Rn222. it is a natural result of uranium decay under the geology of a home, school, or commercial business. It is odorless, tasteless, and invisible. It is, however, responsible for radioactive alpha particles that cause lung cancer. It is present in at least 15% of homes and buildings throughout the USA, and it poses a very serious, and very real, health risk.

Radon levels above 4.0 pci/lis found in 42% of homes in Illinois. It is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, behind smoking. If you smoke, and live in a high Radon level environment, you have about a 36% chance of developing lung cancer. According to the US Surgeon General, more than 22,000 people died due, in part, to Radon exposures in 2024. If you have ever smoked, you are 9 times more likely to develop lung cancer given the same exposure to alpha radiation from Radon a non-smoker might receive.

10%

According to the US EPA, the Illinois Emergency Management and Department of Homeland Security, every home should be tested. Because of that, and because of a concern for health and safety, most home buyers choose to have a Radon test at approximately the same time as the home inspection. Sellers are also choosing to have their properties tested independently.

Radon can accurately be detected through proper testing by an NRPP/NRDP Certified and Licensed Radon Measurement Professional. RadonDog does just that! Should you find a high radon level, it should be mitigated by a certified Radon Mitigation Professional. These professionals are trained through extended educational coursework, national testing, required continuing education, and are guided by Illinois State Law.

Eastern Missouri and Western Illinois have some of the highest radon potential in the United States. In the Alton/Godfrey/Edwardsville area we are in US EPA Zone 1 - a zone of highest potential. Why? There's quite a lot of Uranium in the hills above the River. Every property is unique to the geology under it, but It is more likely that homes in this area will find elevated levels. RadonProf.com can help you understand and prioritize home safety with professional Radon measurement services. Each certified inspector utilizes advanced professional equipment to accurately measure current Radon levels in a property, and report those findings to a client, helping them decide whether Radon mitigation is necessary.

For homeowners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises testing your home for Radon every two years. This is crucial since Radon can be present in any home, regardless of location, age, size, or type. No home is completely resistant to Radon exposure, and geology under your house does shift. A Radon test detects even very low levels of Radon, helping homeowners understand the risk a property poses to a family's health.

Radon is created during the natural decay process of the radioactive element Uranium. Each radioactive element decays and becomes a more stable atom. As it decays, it becomes a new element. For example, Uranium decays and becomes Thorium, which then decays and becomes Radium. The element Radium decays and becomes Radon. Radon decay creates the elements Polonium, then Bismuth, and then into the very stable atom, Lead. Where Uranium, Thorium, and Radium have very long decay cycles (Radium's half life is 1,400 years!), Radon's half life is 3.8 days. When these elements decay, they release radioactive particles known as alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. These are the particles that cause cancer. If you live in a building with Radon gas, you breathe that in and during the time you're in the building Radon emits radioactive particles.

Uranium, Radium, Radon, Polonium, Bismuth, and finally, Lead. Each decay process causes the emission of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, all of which are damaging to human tissues. In the case of Radon, the real culprit is alpha and beta radiation from Radon decay in the lungs. You breathe in Radon gas. You breathe out Radon gas. While Radon in is your lungs, it decays and leaves alpha and beta particles in your lungs. These radiation decay particles bond with lung tissue and cause DNA, chemical and physical changes in lung tissue that cause cancer. We know this through human-based health clinical observations of miners throughout the world. Radon is real. Radon is common. It is held in the geology under your house and can come up through the foundation. Radon seeps into buildings through cracks and openings in the foundation. While its health risks are alarming, the good news is that high radon levels can be effectively reduced with proper cost-effective mitigation measures.

A picocurie is a very small amount of radiation that can do very big damage. The US EPA Guidance for Radon levels in the country is to mitigate radon concentrations that are over 4 picocuries per liter of air in a given space. A picocurie, by the way, is radiation equal to one trillionth of a gram of Radium. 4 of those cause cancer. Radon mitigation is not difficult and in most cases, not expensive. Mitigation techniques are well understood and materials are common. They should be installed by a licensed installer. Many home environment contractors can do this. We might be able to help you find one.

8

Number of Professional Tests Done or Supervised by Licensed Radon Measurement Professionals in CAGE. Yes, the number is tracked.

Why use a professional measurement when measurement kits are available in the home center store? Those tests are generally not as accurate as professional kits, and usually are not deployed under controlled conditions. A Realtor cannot say a Radon level is accurate unless the measures are professionally done. All s/he can say is that a test was conducted and that the measurement generally came in below a prescribed number. That number is 4 picocuries of radium in 1 liter of air. A picocurie is 1 trillionth the radiation of a gram of Radium. You want to be under 4 trillion picocuries in every liter of air. Above that is risky at best. 1 picocurie gives the equivalent of 50 chest x-rays per year.

I do not encourage anyone to rely on Radon test kits from the home center store, The Lowe Depot.. They are meant to be purchased. They are not meant to be accurate. They are inherently and technically inaccurate, and that's why they are cheap. Would you expect the chest x-ray you bought at the 7-11 is as accurate as what you get from the local radiologist? That's the limit of their use. On the surface, the kits do offer some measurement potential. The trouble is that the deployment, instructions, and the accuracy always vary from what EPA protocols require. Homeowners introduce all sorts of measurement inconsistencies. This eliminates the usefulness of the test in most cases. Suppose you have a test kit that measures radiation from a nuclear explosion. Your kit measures 1,000 pounds of TNT equivalent. The real measure is 1,000,000. There's something wrong there.

You'll also see phone apps, and handheld monitors that alert homeowners to spikes in Radon levels. They encourage homeowners to be hypervigilant to levels and spikes. This does an injustice to the homeowner. They may interpret a low level as a permanent non-varying level. Their marketing message is that Radon infusion into the air can be controlled if swift action is taken. It can't. Accurate radon detection and mitigation need doesn't work that way. Radon levels can't be controlled through real-time vigilance. Only mitigation of Radon levels can do that, but the base rate needs to be understood. Mitigation needs to occur, and a follow up test of the same type, in equivalent conditions needs to be repeated.

Radon mitigation works. The equipment is simple, and it is affordable. There are different methods, and each home should be matched to the method that works best for the structure. Once that equipment is installed, it has to stay on all the time. Radon levels will decline, and they should stay there. Remember, Radon can be effectively mitigated. It's possible to lower Radon levels to ensure better safety.

2,381

Number of Licensed Radon Measurement Professionals in ILLINOIS, May 2025.

Total Home Sales in ILLINOIS, 2024

Number of Properties bought and sold ILLINOIS 2024. Source: ILLINOIS IEMA.

Ratio of Tests in Illinois Actually Given by a Licensed Radon Measurement Professional or Radon Measurement Technician vs those that are not.

2,618

130,900

10%

There is one RMT in the Alton/Godfrey/Edwardsville area.

Give me a call or email. I'll get you scheduled. peterson@radondog.com. 730-230-8642.

Radon testing for real estate purposes must be done by an Illinois licensed Radon Measurement Professional (RMP) or Radon Measurement Technician (RMT) who is directly supervised by a Radon Measurement Professional. *

* Radon Industry Licensing Act (RILA), 32 Illinois Administrative Code 422, Licensing of Radon Detection and Mitigation Services. In Illinois, a property owner can test his/her own home. For real estate transfers, property owners MUST REVEAL the results. If there is no disclosure of known radon Measurement, the test should be done.

When a home buyer wants an accurate radon test, it MUST be completed by a Certified and Licensed Radon Measurement Professional or Radon Measurement Technician. According to law, that test must be placed by an RMP or RMT directly RMT supervised, and collected by an RMP or RMT.

2

RadonDog® Map Source: US EPA

O

A predictor of non-RMP testing: x = Number of Radon Measurement Tests for home buyers by a guy who went to the Lowe Depot and gave a Realtor temporary cover until closing. If exposed, s/he could say they had NO IDEA the guy wasn't licensed, and had NO IDEA that Lowe Depot tests were inaccurate, and had NO IDEA radon could be a catalyst to lung cancer, especially if THE CLIENT was a smoker.

f(x) = need to get the damn test done yesterday!

3%/97%

What do you know about Radon measurement in Illinois? Must it be performed by an Illinois-licensed professional? Yes. Do RMPs go through extensive training, testing, and IEMA organizational development consistent with handling radioactive materials? Yes. Can anyone test for radon for real estate transfers? NO. Is your radon guy formally listed on the Illinois Emergency Management Administration website? Probably not. If your guy isn't licensed in Illinois, they cannot legally measure for realty transfers in Illinois. Only a homeowner can do that, and the results must be disclosed. In Illinois, RMPs measure Radon in private residences, schools, commercial buildings, and assisted living facilities. We are qualified to measure in most states.

This is SERIOUS stuff. Lung cancer kills almost 125,000 people in the US each year. Lung cancer from radon alone kills about 22,000 people per year. Lung cancer from smoking, when combined with Radon, is the top cause of lung cancer in the US. If your client is a smoker and lives in an elevated radon environment, they have more than a 36% chance of getting lung cancer. You read that right - better than 1/3. Not many repeat sales for you there. Btw, the cancer risks are not derived through lab studies with mice. They are derived by real human experience, and are well understood.

Do you take your professional responsibilities seriously? Are you a champion fo your client's needs, health, and safety in property purchases? Do you have to get a radon test if your client wants one? Do you need to disclose the information discovered to your client? Should you act to get a qualified measurement as required by state law?

Think of your last radon test in a house you sold. Was your guy credentialled? Did you settle for a guy with a Ghostbusters-type sniffer who claimed to be detecting Radon levels by waving a wand. Did you settle for a guy who went to the Lowe Depot for a $15 kit? That's bad. Did you recommend a licensed professional to your client? No? Do you personally know one? Bet you don't. Were you in a hurry to wrap up this one last little detail? Did your list of recommended providers have anyone who was licensed? How much did your client pay for the Radon test? If it was below $300, the money prrobably wasn't well spent. If your guy measured radon without a license and gave you results they claimed were accurate, it was a misrepresentation where you could be liable.

Was your radon measurement guy imported from Missouri or Iowa? They cannot legally collect Radon measures in Illinois without the Illinois license, education, and testing. Missouri and Iowa have no legal structure for radon testing. If your RMP has an Illinois License, they're legal in Illinois. If they come from Missouri or Iowa, they need to be Illinois licensed. This takes time, money, commitment and a little sophistication.

Where did your guy get the testing equipment? Your Radon Measurement Professional buys their equipment from companies who are accredited by the NSRP & NRPP and US EPA/Homeland Security. These kits are accurate. They are not available in the Lowe Depot. Non-licensed professionals cannot buy the professional tests. A chain of ownership has to be established and documented for the pro tests.

Source: Illinois Emergency Management Agency List of Professional Radon Measurement Providers, May 2025.

Number of Home sales in CAGE, 2024.

Number of Radon Measurement Professionals in CAGE, 2025.

*CAGE = the Collinsville, Alton, Godfrey, and Edwardsville area, 2024.

Number of Radon Measurement Professionals in the 618 and 730 Area Codes.

This is RadonDog®. His name is Delta for a reason! Radioactive elements have a half life that signifies 1/2 of its atomic structure degrades over time. With degradation, an element emits alpha (the nasty particle), beta, and gamma radiation. A measure called a Delta Function signifies an amount of change over time. Radon mitigation can lower the amount of radiation in your home... and that's its Delta function.

Our Services. Radon Dog Does Expert Home Inspections and Radon Measurement.

Certified Home Inspections

Thorough inspections ensuring your home meets safety and quality standards.

Radon Measurement

Accurate radon testing to protect your family from harmful exposure to a known carcinogen.

The inspection was thorough and professional. I felt confident in the findings, especially the radon measurement. Highly recommend for anyone needing a reliable home inspection!

John Doe

★★★★★