Improving Indoor Air Quality by Reducing Radon and Vapor Intrusion through the Use of Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (evoh)

Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH) is a random copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, commonly used as a barrier to hydrocarbons in automotive fuel systems and agricultural pesticide and herbicide solvents. EVOH provides extremely high resistance to the migration of gases and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). The incorporation of EVOH in radon resistant new construction has the potential to dramatically reduce the diffusion of radon and other harmful vapors into building spaces and significantly improve indoor air quality. Recent tests of the radon diffusion coefficient of EVOH are compared to previously published results, which show EVOH has radon barrier properties several orders of magnitude better than polyethylene such as LDPE or HDPE. For radon resistant new construction (RRNC) the use of EVOH in a composite with commonly used materials such as HDPE, LLDPE or PP would dramatically reduce the diffusion of radon and VOC’s through plastic sheeting or vapor retarders. Potential applications for a high barrier vapor retarder (HBVR) include radon and vapor barrier membranes for RRNC and brown field remediation.