According to the Canadian Government -- (Well, they just sued a company that was selling HRV to control Radon in basemen) -- indicating that it was false advertising and actually a dangerous practice.
According to them: HRV are only recommended to control radon in special cases/circumstance were the level is already pretty low and localized. Even then, the system must be installed following the recommendation of a specialist that understand the method of propagation of the radon... and careful monitoring must be done for a least a year ...
All of this is to ascertain that the HRV does not actually "Increase" the level of Radon in the basemen by pumping it from under the slab. (What have been noted at several customers of the company)
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When you instal an HRV unit in the basemen, you also have to analyze the effect of the HRV on the temperature and humidity level of the basement. In colder climate such as Winter, the HRV provide the dehumidifier function -- therefor, the problems are few.
There might be some problems at the end of the spring and in the summer were the HRV unit pump more "Heat" inside the basement... However, the unit can't control the level of humidity of this "Fresh Air" because the DELTA-T between the exterior air and the Basemen does not provide the "DE-HUMIDIFYING EFFECT". Consequently, you might get 100% humidity under some scenario.
Consequently, if you install an HRV in your basemen, be ready to monitor the situation and purchase a small air conditioning units ( Example --- a 90$ -- 5K BTU units per 1000 SF) to control the level of humidity. Don't install a big AC unless you want to freeze to dead. Dehumidifier work also... but I prefer the AC for the added level of comfort.
Sorry, all this information was available at Radio-Canada --- Broadcast "La facture" Dec 2011. However, this is a French station and I was unable to find the equivalent in the English channel.
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