Local TV

As stated on Salt Lake City ABC 4 News 11/05/2007

The Willardsons spent a year and thousands of dollars finishing their basement, that includes bedrooms for their children, but those rooms remain vacant because of the dangerous levels of Radon gas found in their bedrooms and bathroom. “I didn’t know if it was a scam, honestly, I thought at first is it really a legit problem?” said homeowner Trista Willardson.

The Willardsons decided to test for radon gas before they allowed their children to move in downstairs and bought a test kit at Home Depot to find out. They put two kits, designed to absorb the gas in their children’s bathroom, sealed the room for two days and learned the results. Levels came back at 9, more than double the safe level of 4.

The solution for the Willardson is easy.

Radon consultant, Kurt Salomon knows how to get rid of it. “What we’re going to do is create a big vacuum cleaner beneath the cement slab and suck out all of the gases and reduce Radon levels. He says he’ll dig a six inch hole, install a PVC pipe that runs to the attic. Up in the attic he’ll install a fan that will suck the gas out of an exhaust pipe on the roof. Salomon says it usually reduces levels to around two for a cost of around $1,300 to $2,000.

The Willardsons say it’s well worth the cost. “If you know something is a risk and you know how to fix it, you should fix it,” said Trista Willardson. “It’s your health, you can’t replace that,” said Dr. Gary Willardson.