The dark side of green

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Piedmont Row was built in 2006 in Charlotte’s SouthPark area.

The condominium project is part of Piedmont Town Center, a trendy mixed-use development on Carnegie Boulevard that also features stores and restaurants.

The condos are known for being energy efficient, which has been growing in popularity among homebuyers.

And that popular feature is why Piedmont Row has higher-than-acceptable levels of radon, some say.

Radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., was discovered last year in the Piedmont Row condos.

But it’s not the only building in Charlotte with elevated radon.

High levels of radon were discovered three years ago in two other high-rise condominiums in Charlotte, Latta Pavilion and 1315 East in Dilworth.

Some in the construction industry are blaming high radon levels in new projects on the energy efficiency of the buildings and the concrete used in their construction.

“Actually, probably every condominium that’s been built in the last 15 years that has post-tension concrete floors and ceilings has this problem,” said Grant McNeely, president of Matthews-based GTM General Contracting, a residential and commercial building company that also specializes in radon testing and remediation. “Energy efficiency is a big part of it. Buildings are built better now and tighter.”

Radon, an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water, can seep up from the ground and into homes. The EPA recommends that all homes be tested for radon, regardless of the potential for the gas.

Many Mecklenburg County homeowners likely aren’t concerned about radon. That’s because it is generally not found in high levels in the ground here, according to the EPA.

The EPA considers the county to have low potential for radon, with an average indoor radon screening level of less than 2 picocuries per liter. Levels above 4 pCl/L are considered dangerous by the EPA.

McNeely said radon can also seep out of the aggregate that is used to make concrete. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get a true measurement of radon levels in a building until it is finished being built, with the windows, doors and insulation in place, he said.

To reach elevated levels of radon above 4 pCl/L, McNeely said a building would need concrete ceilings and floors like those common in high-rises. Buildings with higher energy efficiency essentially trap the gas inside the building, resulting in higher radon levels, he said.

Shawn Price, general manager of Asheville-based Air Chek, is familiar with elevated radon in energy-efficient high-rises like Piedmont Row.

“We went too far as far as keeping outside air out and indoor air in,” Price said. “A little bit of fresh air is good for you. If these buildings were able to breathe properly, these readings would be gone. If you open the sliding glass door, these readings will be gone.”

Lung cancer controversy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers radon to be a carcinogen that causes an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year in the U.S.

One Charlotte doctor says there is still some controversy about radon exposure being a cause of lung cancer.

John Doty, a pulmonologist with Charlotte Medical Clinic, said that data linking household radon exposure with lung cancer is based on analysis of European studies that showed a small but significant relationship between radon exposure and lung cancer risk.

He said lung cancer incidence is higher in uranium miners, which is believed to stem from radon exposure.

“And there is good evidence that cigarette smoking has an additive effect with radon in causing lung cancer, just like cigarettes and asbestos have,” Doty said.

There is no test that can be done after a diagnosis of lung cancer to determine if the cause was radon, he said.

Radon is not normally tested for by homeowners in Mecklenburg County, Price said, even though the EPA recommends that every home be tested.

He said the common misconception is that radon only comes from the earth, seeping up through dirt. People who live in areas with lower risks of radon in the ground, such as Mecklenburg County, might be told it’s a waste of time and money to test for radon, he said.

But testing is important, he said, adding that there is a saying in his industry: “The only way not to find radon is to not look for it.”

Discovered in Florida

The problem of elevated levels of radon in concrete high-rise buildings was discovered in Florida.

The belief used to be that high radon in concrete high-rises was a problem limited to the Sunshine State because of the ingredients in concrete’s aggregate.

“It was for a long time thought to be a problem related to the geology and what they made concrete from,” Price said. “It never really hit the national radar.”

That was until a few years ago when similar cases began showing up in other Southeastern cities: Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlotte and Nashville, Tenn.

Price is among those who blame elevated radon levels that are being discovered in concrete buildings on rising energy costs that have resulted in more energy-efficient construction.

“It started in the 1970s with the first energy crisis,” he said. “We needed to conserve energy. A lot of buildings in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s were built very energy-efficient with complete concrete shells.”

As elevated levels of radon become more common, there has been a push to include more fresh-air exchanges in homes. Another option used to reduce radon levels in buildings involves coating the concrete with an epoxy-based paint, but that is time-consuming and not as common as a whole-building air-filtration system, Price said.

Price said that in most cases it is more cost-effective to put in a building-wide ventilation system, which can cost about $150,000, rather than require each condo owner to install an individual radon-mitigation unit, which could cost $500,000 apiece.

Problems at Piedmont Row

High radon levels were discovered in Piedmont Row last year when someone who was buying a condo requested a radon test during the inspection phase of the purchase.

Thomas Golen, president of the Piedmont Row condominium owners’ association, said the association formed a committee to examine radon in the building. Its members contracted with a radon-testing firm to measure levels in the building and met with other experts to figure out what to do about it.

“What we found was in modern construction, particularly in multi units, whether it’s hotels, condos, apartment units that are built pretty airtight for energy-conservation purposes … if radon is to emerge and there’s not sufficient ventilation, they tell me it can accumulate,” Golen said. “What we were told is that it happens in buildings like this, when they are pretty airtight.”

Golen said the tests of more than a dozen units and the common areas of the two condo buildings at Piedmont Row showed no other areas with elevated levels of radon.

Because the problem was determined to not be building-wide, the association advised condo owners with elevated radon levels to install individual radon-mitigation units at their own expense, said Mary Wilken, president of Charlotte-based Home Management, which manages condos in Charlotte, including at Piedmont Row.

‘Might be more to it’

Piedmont Row condo owner Gina Herald wasn’t happy with the results of the Piedmont Row testing.

“They can dismiss it, but I think there might be more to it,” she said.

Herald purchased her condo prior to its completion in June 2005 and moved in the following year.

She is trying to sell her condo and has moved out because of concerns about radon. She said her condo has been severely devalued because of the radon problems and the large number of empty units in the building, some of which are due to foreclosures. Others have never been occupied.

Herald said there is not much recourse available to her. She plans to speak with Rep. Sue Myrick, R-Charlotte, and the state attorney general’s office.

Herald said a building-wide ventilation system should be required in high-rises such as Piedmont Row and she might go to the North Carolina Building Codes Council to see about changing the code.

She said attorneys have told her that she or the condominium association has six years to file a claim against the builder, but the attorneys’ fees are expensive. Plus, the association is “not interested in holding the builder accountable,” she said. She said she has considered pursuing a class-action lawsuit.

Charlotte-based Crescent Resources and Charlotte-based Lincoln Harris were Piedmont Row’s developers, and Charlotte-based Shelco was the contractor.

Ike Grainger, vice president of marketing and business development for Shelco, said he was not aware of a radon problem at Piedmont Row.

Mike Reed, spokesman for Crescent Resources, would not comment other than to say that the development was sold in 2007 to Piedmont Row Drive LLC.

Lincoln Harris, which is headquartered in Piedmont Towne Center, did not return a phone call requesting comment.

Piedmont Natural Gas is also headquartered in the office towers at Piedmont Towne Center. Company spokesman David Trusty said he has not heard of elevated levels of radon in their building.

Tara Ramsey can be reached at [email protected].

Testing positive

A look at some Charlotte condominiums where radon has been discovered:

Piedmont Row, 4625 Piedmont Row Drive

Radon was discovered last year in Piedmont Row condominiums, a SouthPark development built in 2006, when someone was buying a condo. Later tests showed that the gas was not present throughout the entire development. As a result, the condominium owners’ association decided not to pay for a radon ventilation system throughout the building.

Latta Pavilion, 1320 Filmore Ave.

In late 2007, high levels of radon were discovered in Latta Pavilion, a Dilworth condominium development with 100 units that each tested positive for high levels of radon in late 2007. The developer, Charlotte-based Grubb Properties, agreed to mitigate the problem and installed a $700,000 ventilation system.

Park Plaza, 405 W. Seventh St.

Some condo owners in Park Plaza, which was built in 1999 in the 4th Ward, have installed individual mitigation units after radon was discovered there.

Gateway Plaza, 718 W. Trade St.

Some condo owners in Gateway Plaza, which was built in 2000, have installed their own radon-mitigation units after detecting the gas.

Source: Mecklenburg Times staff research

Radon:

• is a tasteless, odorless, invisible gas.
• is produced by the decay of uranium in soil and water.
• is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.
• causes about 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year.
• is considered harmful at levels above 4 picocuries per liter.
• measures at less than 2 picocuries per liter in the average Mecklenburg County home.
• exists naturally in the ground and also rises out of concrete.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency