Radon Reduction Without a Full System: Temporary Steps
Sealing visible foundation cracks and major openings, and increasing ventilation, can produce a modest reduction in radon levels in some homes, but the EPA does not consider sealing alone a reliable primary mitigation method, since soil gas finds other paths through a foundation that sealing cannot fully address. A properly designed sub-slab depressurization system is the EPA's recommended and most consistently effective method.
The honest answer for a homeowner deciding what to do immediately after an elevated test, while scheduling a full mitigation installation, is that sealing major cracks and running exhaust fans more is a reasonable interim step, not a substitute for the appointment.
See our page on sealing cracks for radon for more detail on what sealing actually addresses and does not, and our page on sub-slab depressurization for why that method is the EPA's standard recommendation.
Common questions
Is sealing worth doing at all, then?
Yes, as a complement to a full system, since a sealed foundation makes the mitigation system's job easier and more efficient, but not as a replacement for one if levels are meaningfully above the action level.
How much reduction can ventilation alone realistically achieve?
It varies significantly by house and is not something the EPA publishes a reliable percentage for, precisely because it depends on too many house-specific factors to generalize. It should not be relied on as the plan for a result meaningfully above 4 pCi/L.
Have a number you want read?
Tell us the result and your town in York County, or call and read it out. We will tell you what it points to and what a system would involve in a house like yours.
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