Radon Mitigation in Bismarck, ND

How Radon Mitigation Works

Radon mitigation is the process of installing a vent system that captures radon gas beneath your foundation and releases it above the roof, before it can build up in the air you breathe. For the vast majority of Bismarck homes — and this is basement country — that means an active sub-slab depressurization (ASD) system: a sealed PVC pipe drawn through the basement slab, an inline fan that runs continuously, and a discharge point above the eave.

The physics are simple and reliable. Radon comes from uranium in soil and rock decaying into radium and then into radon gas, which seeps up through cracks, sump pits, floor drains, and the pores in concrete. A mitigation fan puts the soil under your slab at slightly lower pressure than the house, so the gas follows the pipe out instead of drifting up into your living space. Done correctly, it is one of the most dependable fixes in the building trades — and it keeps working for as long as the fan runs, for a few dollars a month in electricity.

A standard radon mitigation install with Bismarck Radon includes:

• Diagnostics. We locate the best suction point and check sub-slab communication so the system is sized right the first time.
• Sealing. Slab cracks, sump lids, and the pipe penetration are sealed so the fan pulls from the soil, not your basement.
• Installation. Piping, a correctly rated fan, and a visible U-tube manometer so you can confirm the system is working at a glance.
• Verification. A post-mitigation radon test confirms the level dropped below 4.0 pCi/L. If it hasn't, we adjust until it has.

63 Percent of North Dakota Homes Test High. This Is the State Capital of Radon Country.

North Dakota's own Department of Environmental Quality puts it plainly: 63 percent of North Dakota homes have an elevated radon level — above the EPA action level of 4.0 pCi/L. And North Dakota is one of only two states in the nation where every single county is EPA Zone 1, the highest radon designation the agency assigns. Burleigh County is Zone 1. Morton County is Zone 1. There is no low-radon side of the river.

The reason is under our feet. Central North Dakota sits on uranium-bearing Pierre Shale, and on top of it the glaciers left till ground out of that same rock — a soil that cracks as it dries and lets soil gas move freely into basements. Add the Bismarck housing stock (this is one of the most basement-heavy regions in America, and nearly a third of the city's homes were built 1950–1979) and our long, sealed-up heating season, and you get radon numbers that surprise people who just moved here. Read why North Dakota tests so high →

One more local fact worth knowing: the state's Radon Control Program is headquartered right here in Bismarck, on Normandy Street. The state government literally runs its radon office from this town — and six in ten local homes still test high. The takeaway for a homeowner is straightforward: county averages can't tell you what's happening in your house. Two identical homes on the same street can test wildly differently. The only way to know is to test — and if the number is high, to fix it.

Why Homeowners Call Bismarck Radon

• Built to the national standard. North Dakota doesn't license radon work — anyone with a drill and a fan can sell a system. We build to the ANSI/AARST standards the industry's certifying bodies require, and we'll tell you exactly what that means for your house. Whoever you hire, insist on that.
• We prove the fix. Every radon mitigation job ends with a verification test. You get documentation showing your level before and after — which also matters when you sell, now that North Dakota law requires sellers to disclose known radon results.
• Firm pricing, no pressure. You get a written price before any work starts, and an honest answer about whether you even need us. If a free state test kit is the right next step, we'll say so.
• Built for real-estate deadlines. Under contract with a high radon result? We schedule fast and coordinate with your agent so the deal stays on track.
• Local. We work Bismarck and Mandan every day, and cover the surrounding towns — Lincoln, Wilton, Washburn, New Salem, and out to Steele.