RadonLeaders.org

Radon Tests Completed With No Concerns

RadonLeaders — Thu, 31 May 2012 14:28:49 +0000

Audrey Levine

The district has completed radon testing after some parents expressed concerns—and it was determined that all buildings are safe.

Board of education vice president Patrick Breslin announced at the May 8 meeting that a total of 900 tests were done throughout the district to ensure that all buildings are safe.

“This is the first time this has been done in five years or more, but we did the testing to assuage anyone’s concerns,” he said. “There are no state requirements to do these at any interval.”

With the first tests done, Breslin said, all but three came back without any concerns.

“But those three were retested, and they came back with no concern,” he said. “It was 900 tests and 900 results back below the state level of concern.”

In addition, Breslin said, the district has been discussing the baseball field at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School, and there have been discussions concerning outside groups that might want to raise funding to make improvements to the field in the sports complex.

But, Breslin said, if those improvements are made, the field would only be used for baseball, and nothing else.

“With that consideration, it causes problems with the number of athletic events, including phys ed use,” he said. “[High school athletic director] John Maggio has recommended against this.”

“If we dedicate that field area only to baseball, that causes problems to training and a number of other programs,” Breslin added.

Also in board of education news, board member Lynne Hurley said the finance committee is recommending renewal of contracts with the district food services company and custodial company, Pritchard Industries.

And, Hurley said, lunch prices are going to increase by about 10 cents in accordance with requirements from the state.

Finally, board member Cindy Cullen said the high school currently has 12 floating positions for the upcoming year, and one is possible for an additional librarian.

“That’s under discussion,” she said. “We are looking for board input into that, whether we would be opposed to filling one of those floating positions with another librarian.”

Both Breslin and board member Jeffrey Brookner said they are very much in favor of adding another librarian, but a vote was not taken at this time.

See full article: http://bridgewater.patch.com/articles/radon-tests-completed-with-no-concerns-at-board-of-education-meeting

Mike Holmes: Radon Makes a Comeback

RadonLeaders — Thu, 31 May 2012 14:21:18 +0000

Mike Holmes, National Post

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Something I haven’t spoken about in a while is now suddenly a hot topic again. What’s everyone asking about? Radon. Go figure.

Most people are scared of radon. The truth is not a lot of people know what it is. They usually think it’s a soil problem. But it’s actually a gas problem.

Radon comes from uranium in the ground. Uranium is everywhere. It’s in all kinds of soil. And when it breaks down, it produces a radioactive gas that is odourless, colourless and tasteless. This gas is radon.

When radon gas is released in the air outside, it gets diluted. But if it finds its way into your home it can accumulate. That’s when it becomes dangerous.
How does radon come into a home? Through unfinished floors, pipes, windows, sumps, cracks in foundation walls and floors, or even through foundation walls. Remember, concrete is porous. Radon is a gas, so it can come through the tiny holes in a home’s foundation walls.

Being exposed to high doses of radon over a long period of time is a huge health risk. According to Health Canada, radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. In fact, 10% of all cases of lung cancer in Canada are caused by radon.

Is this serious? Let’s look at the facts: It’s estimated 2,000 people die every year in Canada due to radon. Think that’s bad? In the U.S. it’s about 20,000.

Between 2009 and 2010, Health Canada did a cross-country survey. Turns out, about 7% of Canadians are living in homes with radon levels above the guideline.

How much radon is too much? It used to be 800 Bq/m3 or 800 units of becquerels per cubic metre. (Becquerels are used to measure radioactive concentration.) Then in 2007 it was lowered to 200 Bq/m3.

The survey also showed different parts of the country have different levels of radon. For example, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and the Yukon had the highest percentages. Nunavut and Prince Edward Island had the lowest. Anywhere uranium is mined, you’re going to have higher radon levels.

But regardless of where you live, there’s no way of knowing if you have a radon problem — unless you test for it. One house can have radon levels next to zero. You go to the house next door and the levels can be off the charts.

These levels also fluctuate. Depending on the weather, humidity, the home, or the time of year, radon levels will be higher or lower.

For example, during the winter we keep our windows and doors shut. This lets radon accumulate in the home. That’s why radon levels tend to be higher in the winter. And for that same reason, it’s also the best time to test for it.

There are radon test kits homeowners can buy at big box stores or from organizations like Pinchin Environmental. But testing can be tricky.

There are specific requirements when you test for radon. For example, you need to place the detector in the lowest part of the house that’s occupied for at least four hours a day. It can’t be anywhere where there’s humidity, such as the kitchen or bathroom, or near any vents. There can’t be any objects around it. It needs to be a certain distance away from interior walls, exterior walls, below the ceiling and above the ground. If you don’t follow these instructions carefully, you mess up the test.

That’s why there are professionals who know how to measure for radon. Who’s a pro? Someone who is certified by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) or National Radon Safety Board (NRSB).

There are short term and long term tests for radon. Short term is usually over two to seven days and long term is anywhere between one to 12 months. The longer you test, the better. Health Canada recommends a minimum of three months. But what if there is a radon issue? Should you be waiting for months to find out?

Your best bet is to do a short-term radon test in closed conditions. That means keeping windows and doors shut as much as possible — some homeowners do it while they’re away on vacation. And if the results show you’ve got radon levels higher than 200 Bq/m3 call in a pro to verify.

If you have a radon problem, it can cost $1,500 to $3,000 to fix it. You need to call in a contractor who has experience in dealing with radon mitigation. You need someone who is certified in radon mitigation by the National Radon Proficiency Program.

Putting a cap on sump pumps and sealing foundation cracks helps. But the most effective method is drilling a hole through the basement floor and installing a pipe with a fan. This process is called de-pressurization and it draws the gas from the ground to outside the home.

Is radon something we should think about? Yes. Should we panic? No. Is it more serious than something like mould or asbestos? As far as I’m concerned, they’re all bad. If you have high levels of radon in your house, it’s bad. If you have asbestos or mould in your house, it’s bad.

Bottom line: Whether it’s mould, asbestos or radon, any time our health or our family’s health is compromised we need to be concerned.

See full article: http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/05/28/mike-holmes-radon-makes-a-comeback/

High Radon Levels Found in 1 in 5 Schools, More Testing Advised

RadonLeaders — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:23:29 +0000

WEBWIRE

IAQ Index™ provides test kits to help identify radon levels and other hazards in schools, homes and offices.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “A nationwide survey of radon levels in schools estimates that nearly one in five has at least one schoolroom with a short-term radon level above the action level of 4 pCi/L (picoCuries per liter) - the level at which EPA recommends that schools take action to reduce the level. EPA estimates that more than seventy thousand (70,000) schoolrooms in use today have high short-term radon levels.”

Radon is a radioactive gas that is known to cause cancer. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. The gas can move up through the soil and penetrate buildings through cracks, sumps and other holes in the building slab or foundation. Once inside, it can result in high levels of the gas that people then breathe. The Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today.

Earlier this month, KWQC News 6 broadcast a report about radon in schools in Iowa. It stated that schools in Iowa are not required to test for radon, but that preschools are mandated to be tested every two years. The report has raised concerns with students, parents and teachers about radon levels and how much time they spend in an indoor school environment that may have never been tested for radon.

One company that has been at the forefront of helping schools and others test for radon is IAQ Index. The company has developed an easy to use test kit that makes identifying radon levels a quick and simple task. “The only way to determine if a problem exists in a school or other building is to test for it,” reported Bruce Jacobs, CIH, President of IAQ Index. “With summer vacation starting soon in most school districts, now is an ideal time to have facilities tested to ensure radon levels are not elevated. The good news is that if high levels are detected, there are steps that can be implemented to lower radon levels to make these indoor areas safe for students and faculty,” he continued.

To learn more about radon or other indoor air quality (IAQ) concerns, please visit IAQ Index at http://www.IAQIndex.com, email info@IAQIndex.com or call (888) 259-3883.

About IAQ Index
IAQ Index was developed by a Certified Industrial Hygienist with decades of experience dealing with indoor air quality issues. IAQ Index was developed as a health-based, easy-to-understand, air quality index that is calculated from data generated for various parameters commonly measured during IAQ surveys. The approach is similar to the EPA’s Air Quality Index that has been used historically to communicate the risks posed by common pollutants in the ambient air.

Read this article: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=157044

Professor to Study Effects of Energy-Efficiency Measures on Indoor Air Quality

RadonLeaders — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:28:33 +0000

ASU News

BOONE—Weatherization improves a building’s energy efficiency by keeping cold air out in the winter and hot humid air out in the summer. But do these measures affect indoor air quality?

That’s what a team from Appalachian State University plans to find out.

Dr. Susan C. Doll, an assistant professor in building science program in the Department of Technology and Environmental Design, has received a three-year $696,810 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to compare air quality measurements in homes in North Carolina mountain and coastal communities to see if weatherization affects the level of indoor air contaminants.

“One approach for improving energy efficiency is to seal up the buildings so you are not losing conditioned air, but we can’t forget about the people living in these buildings,” Doll said.

“Tightening” a house can trap whatever contaminants might be in the building, Doll explained. Those contaminants can include carbon monoxide, radon and formaldehyde. “The leakiness of a building was the old-fashioned way of ensuring good indoor air quality,” she said.

In addition to other faculty in her department, Doll will be assisted by individuals from Appalachian’s Department of Sociology, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Institute for Health and Human Services and the Appalachian Energy Center. Community partners are W.A.M.Y. Community Action Agency, which conducts low-income housing weatherization projects in Watauga, Ashe, Mitchell and Yancey counties, and Coastal Community Action’s Weatherization Program, which serves Carteret, Duplin and Onslow counties.

Doll’s career as an engineer and environmental health scientist has focused on the intersection of the built environment and energy use and the impact both can have on the occupants of that space.

She was an analyst with the Biosphere 2 closed habitat in Arizona and a spacecraft environmental control and life support system engineer with The Boeing Company in Huntsville, Ala., where she worked on the International Space Station, and habitat and spacecraft concept development for lunar and Mars applications.

After completing her doctoral work at the Harvard School of Public Health titled “Limiting conditions for fungal growth in the built environment,” Doll worked for an environmental consulting company conducting building assessment and diagnostics for indoor environment problems. Most recently before joining the faculty at Appalachian, she conducted research on household energy and indoor air quality in rural Rwanda.

For the HUD-funded project, air monitoring equipment will collect data in the 72 homes selected for the study for one week before and one week after weatherization. The study will look for changes in carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particles, radon, formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds that could be in a home, as well as temperature and humidity.

“One thing that makes us different than the typical indoor air quality researcher is that we are also have expertise in building performance,” Doll said of those assisting her with the study. “When we understand how building performance impacts the indoor air quality, which in turn impacts human occupants, we can do something to fix it.”

Recent changes to N.C. building code related to weatherization now require installing ventilation to ensure acceptable air quality. “If it turns out that the data show the ventilation is doing the job properly, than that’s good,” Doll said. “If we find out there might be certain circumstances where there are issues, such as occupant activities or materials in a house that can produce off gassing, then we can address that. And that’s information that will be useful to policy makers.”

Read the article: http://www.news.appstate.edu/2012/05/21/indoor-air-quality/

Students Safe Despite Elevated Radon Levels: Health Officer

RadonLeaders — Mon, 21 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Ryan Ross, The Guardian

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Despite elevated radon levels, Souris Consolidated School is safe for staff and students, says the province’s chief health officer.

Dr. Heather Morrison said radon only causes health effects after high levels of exposure over a long period of time.

“If there’s one key message, that would be it,” she said.

Recent test results showed levels of 588 becquerels per cubic metre and 386 becquerels per cubic metre in two rooms at the school.

Health Canada’s guideline sets the acceptable level at 200 becquerels per cubic

metre.

Morrison said she made recommendations to the Education Department and the Eastern School District to have work done right away to reduce the radon levels.

She also said radon is much less of an issue in the summer than it is in the winter, in part because there are more windows open in the building to help air circulate.

“That’s why also the risk for students

staying in the school to the end of the year ... the radon is not high this time of year,” she said.

It’s not the first time testing turned up elevated radon levels at the school, but Morrison said she called Health Canada to get an expert opinion on the issue.

Although some students and staff would spend years in the building, there is still not an immediate health concern.

“They have advised us that based on those levels and given that situation, they feel like, yes, it should be fixed but usually in those levels they give a two-year window for remediation,” she said.

Morrison said she understands why parents would be concerned about the radon levels.

“I would want it fixed, but I wouldn’t take my child out of school,” she said.

As for the level of risk, Morrison said it isn’t any different for children than it is for adults.

“Because it’s all about lifetime exposure,” she said.

Eastern School District superintendent Ricky Hood said the district took measures to try lower the radon levels after previous testing found elevated levels.

That included sealing cracks, which led to lower levels in 2009, but there were still some tests that showed elevated levels, Hood said.

The latest results came in May 11, Hood said, and when the district got them, it took immediate steps to talk to several government officials to figure out what to do.

Hood said the advice the district got was that the health risk was low, but immediate work was needed.

That’s when the province hired a radon remediation company, which was expected to visit the school Thursday to do some preliminary work, he said.

“There certainly will be much further investigation by that company in the near future and we’re hoping that the work can get

completed and get completed as soon as possible.”

Hood said the work done last time wasn’t entirely successful and he agreed it should have been fixed sooner.

“I wish we had done it earlier and found a permanent, positive solution earlier, but that’s sort of looking backward,” he said.

Read this article: http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2012-05-18/article-2982474/Students-safe-despite-elevated-radon-levels%3A-health-officer/1

ALAPA Partners Offering Free Radon Test Kits

RadonLeaders — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:02:10 +0000

Submitted by the American Lung Association in Pennsylvania

The American Lung Association in Pennsylvania (ALAPA) has introduced a new program to help people protect their health from lung-cancer-causing radon gas. The lung health agency identified three regions of the Commonwealth with generally lower testing rates and generally higher likelihood of high radon levels. ALAPA today unveiled its plan to promote radon testing among residents in the first region, lying mainly in the northeastern quadrant of the state.

In the first year of an envisioned three-year program, ALAPA will conduct outreach in nine counties, including Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Lycoming.

In addition to their nationally recognized smoking cessation and asthma education programs, the American Lung Association announced today that they would be providing free radon test kits to the public through the following three main activities:

An on-line program at its webpage www.lunginfo.org/freeradonkit at which Pennsylvania residents can place a request for a home radon test kit, while supplies last. Only one test kit per household will be provided, with the understanding that persons requesting a test kit do not have previous test results for their homes and that testing would be performed for the residents' personal health purposes. This offer will be in effect for a limited time and test kits can be ordered only online.

School-based programs at which ALAPA staff gives presentations and students receive radon test kits for use in their homes. Commitment from parents that the test would be performed is sought, and ideally the school would use the radon program as part of its science lessons. Schools interested in signing up should contact Tony Delonti, Program Specialist at (570) 346-1784 or adelonti@lunginfo.org. Upper elementary and middle school teachers throughout the area work with ALAPA to bring such educational programs about radon to their students. For example, Mount Carmel Elementary in Northumberland County and Canton Elementary School in Bradford County have already scheduled programs in May.

Community-based outreach activities at which ALAPA staff or its cooperative partners provides radon test kits to members of the public. Businesses, Extension agents, health centers, municipal governments, shopping malls, and civic clubs have all participated with ALAPA in the past and should contact Tony Delonti, Program Specialist at (570) 346-1784 or adelonti@lunginfo.org to sign up. For example, Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre will hold an educational program on radon at Patterson Auditorium on May 31st at 6:30 pm. The session provided by the Lung Association will include an educational talk and materials as well as test kits for the public.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and it is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking. The only way to know the level of radon inside one's home is to test for it. The U.S. Surgeon General and the American Lung Association recommend that all homes be tested for radon.

The American Lung Association is conducting this program under a recent grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). "The American Lung Association is using the program as a way to help the public carry out DEP's recent call for everyone to test their homes for radon," said the group's Environmental Health Director, Kevin Stewart. For the past 25 years, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, state environmental agencies, and organizations nationwide such as the American Lung Association have encouraged the public to test homes and to get radon problems fixed.

Nearly one in fifteen homes nationwide has a high level of indoor radon, and in Pennsylvania, the rates are even greater. The good news is that homes with high radon levels can be fixed. In most cases, the solution is simple and similar in cost to other typical home repairs.

If you have a question concerning radon or would like to contact your local American Lung Association office, please call the American Lung Association toll-free at 1-800-LUNG-USA.

Read this article: http://thedailyreview.com/news/alapa-partners-offering-free-radon-test-kits-1.1315236

Input Requested on ASD Fan Location Requirement in ASTM E2121

RadonLeaders — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:29:07 +0000

The ASTM Executive Task Group (ETG) currently working on the revision of E2121 has been asked to consider changes to current ASD radon mitigation system fan location requirements which would allow such fans to be installed in at least some locations within the building envelope.

The ETG requests that parties who have opinions regarding this change submit their opinions, with substantiating information, to the ETG by sending an email to Bill Brodhead wmbrodhead@gmail.com and to Jack Hughes e2121jack@gmail.com.

Any suggestions for language in E2121 on this subject (with or without changes to the requirement) are also welcome.

A Missed Opportunity: The Ostrich Approach to Indoor Radon Exposure

AARSTDirector — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:19:17 +0000

Peter Hendrick - a link of Adam M Finkle's RegBlog

The following link Reg Blog by Adam M. Finkely provides great perspective from a newcomer to the crazy upside down world of American Radon policy and our current funding crisis. A must read.

Adam writes:

"Even if the federal government wanted to encourage people to mitigate radon by “nudging” them rather than providing the public health benefits as part of a fiscal stimulus, it still seems inexplicable to declare, as the administration’s 2013 budget does, that an $8 million EPA program to educate the public about radon is a “mature program” that can be zeroed out. In my opinion, this is the wrong time to declare victory on a problem in which we have barely made a dent."

(Adam Finkle is the Executive Director of the Penn Program on Regulation and a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. From 1995-2000, he was Director of Health Standards Programs at the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, he is currently investigating better ways for regulators to identify potentially dangerous facilities to inspect.provides a great perspective from a newcomer to the upside down of radon, one of the most serious environmental health risks in the nation.)

Concern Over Radon in Iowa Sparks Discussion

RadonLeaders — Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Dora Grote, The Daily Iowan

When one soars above the Flyover State, a colorful patchwork of cornfields expands below. A closer look at the bucolic landscape reveals flourishing gardens filled with flowers and fresh produce.

Crisp, fresh streams can be heard trickling through the pastures. But these serene observations of Iowa miss one integral element — something that can't be seen, smelled, or heard.

The state's invisible and odorless presence is the radioactive gas radon — which experts estimate is responsible for causing 400 lung-cancer-related deaths across the state each year.

On a bigger scale, radon is a leading environmental carcinogen and second most common cause of lung cancer in the nation, behind tobacco use.

These numbers have caught the attention of environmental and public-health advocates throughout the state who are determined to educate, inform, and push for legislation related to radon safety.

These advocates — including members of the University of Iowa College of Public Health and Johnson County Department of Public Health — helped form a Radon Coalition group in 2010. Since then, they have attempted to introduce a bill in the Iowa Legislature, as well as educate the public regarding the risks of radon exposure.

Attempts at drafting a bill have so far failed, and so the coalition will meet in Grinnell one week from today to draft a new strategy.

Sara Comstock, the executive director of the Iowa Cancer Consortium and one of the coalition's leaders, said the meeting's main focus will be mapping out a plan for the legislative interim aimed at advancing the radon bill — which did not make it to the floor this February — next session.

"It is important to keep the dialogue going so that partners stay engaged and energized to reduce radon exposure in Iowa," she said.

Radon Coalition member and Iowa native Gail Orcutt is a poster child for why radon matters.

Orcutt, 59, leads an active and healthy lifestyle. And though she never smoked a day in her life, a persistent, wheezing cough made her decide to visit the doctor in 2010.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine someone would tell me I was diagnosed with lung cancer," Orcutt said, who survived the cancer. "It was devastating."

After her diagnosis, Orcutt decided to test her home for radon and found the levels at 6.9 picoCuries per liter — 2.9 picoCuries above the Environmental Protection Agency's safe home guideline.

She's now dedicated her life to helping other Iowans understand the danger.

Ultimately, Comstock said, she hopes this meeting will begin the process that can finally lead to a bill passing through the Legislature.

"Hopefully, we will come out of the meeting with a plan, action steps, and a timeline for the next six to eight months," she said. "We hope to play off of everyone's strengths to maximize the effectiveness of our coalition's work."

How it got to Iowa

Radon is formed naturally by the decaying process of uranium and radium — both of which can be found in many rocks. During the Ice Ages — spanning from roughly 3 million to around 10,000 years ago — glaciers moved over, ground up, and carried rocks from what is now Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario to Iowa.

All rocks that house uranium and radium naturally release radon, but the glacier's movement pulverized the rocks into smaller chunks, increasing the surface area of the once whole rocks. This increased surface area allows radon to escape the rocks more readily. Over time, rain, freeze-thaw, plant roots, and exposure to oxygen weathered the pulverized rock fragments, which increases their porosity, allowing more opportunity for radon to escape into the soil, air, and water.

Source: Bob Libra, Iowa state geologist.

Levels in Iowa

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency capped the allowable radon level for safe buildings at 4.0 picoCuries per liter of air — which is the unit of measurement used to measure the amount of radon in the air.

Iowa has the highest average levels of radon in the nation, according to the EPA. The state falls into the EPA radon red zone, which means every county has a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than the suggested 4.0 picoCuries per liter. Johnson County's levels are estimated to be 4.4 picoCuries per liter, which is lower than most surrounding counties but more than three times greater the national average radon concentration.

SOURCE: Bill Field, UI Occupational and Environmental Health professor and national radon expert

How it enters a building

Once a house or building is constructed, it acts as a vacuum that sucks the radon out of the soil and traps it in the structure. Radon enters a building through cracks in the foundation, sump pumps, or spaces around pipes.

However, the age of a building is not determinant of the risk of radon.

SOURCE: Bill Field, UI Occupational and Environmental Health professor and national radon expert

Testing for radon

It doesn't take a professional to test for radon.

Home testing kits are available ranging in cost from $10 to $30; it can take from two to more than 90 days to complete testing, depending on whether a short- or long-term test is used.

Typically, kits are placed in high-occupancy rooms for a specified amount of time; to obtain the results, the detectors have to be sent to a lab for analysis.

Fans, fireplaces, furnaces, air-conditioning use, open windows, rain, and barometric pressure are just some of the factors that play a role in causing radon levels to fluctuate.

Therefore, it is advised houses be under "closed conditions" when performing a short-term test.

This means all windows and doors are shut during the testing.

However, most people do not live in this type of environment, which poses a question on the accuracy of radon tests. Closed house conditions are intended to maximize radon concentrations so that if the short-term test result indicates radon concentrations below 4.0 picoCuries per liter, there is little chance the yearlong average will be more than 4.0.

But for those who are concerned about the accuracy of a home test, state-licensed radon professionals can perform checks for about $100 to $150.

SOURCE: Bill Field, UI Occupational and Environmental Health professor and national radon expert

Mitigation

If radon test results come back higher than 4.0 picoCuries per liter, the EPA advises action be taken to mitigate the radon problem. Mitigation is a method used to reduce the amount of radon in a building by sucking the radon out of the soil underneath the house and releasing it above the rooftop before it has a chance to enter the home.

Field said a popular method is called active soil depressurization. The radon-reduction method involves drilling a 4-inch diameter through the foundation flooring. A PVC pipe is placed through the hole, into the ground and extends through the house into the attic. A fan is installed in the attic to draw air from under the house and vent it through the rooftop. A radon-mitigation specialist must be trained and have credentials to install radon-reduction systems in Iowa.

SOURCE: Bill Field, UI Occupational and Environmental Health professor and national radon expert

Legislation

There is only one piece of legislation that has passed regarding the regulation of radon testing: that licensed daycares are required to be tested every two years.

However, a radon-disclosure law requires homeowners who have tested for radon to disclose the results of their tests when they sell their homes.

"This is a very counterproductive law, in my opinion," Field said. "Most people do not remember accurately what their radon test indicated. It also tends to reduce radon testing, because people do not want to have to disclose that they tested."

The Radon Coalition proposed a bill in the Legislature this February that would have required "the state building code commissioner to adopt statewide radon-control standards in residential construction, requiring that radon testing, mitigation, or abatement be conducted in schoolhouses and certain residential buildings, requiring certain notifications, and providing an income tax credit, and including retroactive applicability provisions."

However, the bill never reached the floor.

Peggy Huppert, Iowa director of governmental relations for the American Cancer Society, was one of the bill's authors. She said the bill failed because the group could not come to an agreement over what the bill should encompass in a timely fashion.

"We had a hard time agreeing on what we wanted to ask for," Huppert said. "There is no state that has what we would call an ideal radon law. There's just not a lot of great resources about writing laws about radon."

Money was also an issue.

Galen Howsare, the chief financial officer for the Iowa Association of School Boards was a registered lobbyist against the bill. He said requiring schools to be tested would be too expensive.

"They keep adding to the list of what we have to do, and we don't have any money left to do it," Howsare said. "The way we felt the legislation was written, the testing wouldn't be funded by insurance, and the districts wouldn't have any money to withstand the costs."

The EPA's proposed 2013 budget would eliminate all money radon related grans distributed to states — which in the 2012 fiscal year was $8 million — to help promote radon awareness, oversee professional testing, and reduce the risks of exposure.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, said it's a mistake for Congress to cut that funding.

"States rely on that funding, and for some states, that's the only funding they have," he said. "Radon is deadly in places such as Iowa."

Though radon is a concern, Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, said the nation is financially struggling.

"The federal government is handing out money to states, and they can't sustain that very long," Johnson said. "There is either federal stimulus money or the states have to increase taxes to keep programs running. I don't think we ought to have a roller-coaster ride like that financially. There have to be cuts somewhere."

Radon death

The first symptom of radon-induced illness is serious — lung cancer.

As radon decays, it produces solid radioactive products that people can inhale. The decayed products attach to the lining of a person's lungs and can lead to the formation of cancer, but there are no prior symptoms, not even a cough, Field said.

And while lung cancer can be caused by many different factors — such as smoking, genetics, or pollutants — Thomas Gross, an associate professor of internal medicine at the UIHC Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, said radon has a clear association with lung cancer.

However, the magnitude of the risk is hard to determine.

"There are radon zealots who think all lung cancer can be traced back to radon and others who think it is a very minor player – [the] truth [is] probably somewhere in between," Gross said.

But according to unofficial estimates from the EPA, radon is the No. 1 environmental carcinogen that causes death and is responsible for 21,000 deaths per year in the United States.

Residential

UI graduate student Katie Jones has lived in her cozy cabin-like apartment in Iowa City for the past 10 months.

Upon starting a job with the Iowa Cancer Consortium, she learned what radon was and how to test for it, which led her to place a testing kit in her bedroom on April 10.

And while Jones' radon levels were low, this is a step she wished more students would take.

"A lot of young people just don't think about it a lot or are aware of it," she said. "Students only live [in a specific apartment] for a year or two and might not want to start an issue with the landlord. It's just an awkward position to be in as a tenant."

But Iowa City residents can breathe a little easier knowing there are local laws in place that require more protection against radon in comparison with towns across the state.

In Iowa City, builders are required to put in a passive mitigation system — a vent pipe — that would allow for a fan to be installed if the homeowner decides to mitigate in the future, said Tim Hennes, Iowa City senior building inspector.

In addition, said Stan Laverman, another city senior housing inspector, radon testing must be completed upon selling a house, which is stricter than the state law, which simply requires homeowners who have tested their homes to reveal the test results before the sale.

John Marshall, the president of the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors, said part of the purchase agreement concerns radon testing.

"Buyers can then choose whether or not if they want to have the testing done," Marshall said. "But it is at their expense that it is done usually."

Marshall said if the results come back and lead to mitigation, then the buyer and seller need to negotiate the expense.

Greg Bal, the supervising attorney of UI Student Legal Services for five years, said he has never been approached by a student with legal questions about radon.

"Essentially, the landlord has to provide a residence that is safe and habitable," Bal said. "Radon is very dangerous and unacceptable and would be the basis for termination of lease if the apartment or house is no longer safe."

Bal said the landlord should be required to pay for the testing and mitigation. If the landlord refuses to mitigate, the tenants should have the right to terminate the lease, ending all obligations they hold to the landlord.

Field said several students have contacted him about radon concerns, and residential radon is worrisome because of how much time people spend in their homes.

"I am aware that several leases were successfully broken when the landlord refused to lower the radon concentrations in the apartment," Field said. "Students have the right to live in a safe dwelling. I personally would love to see all off-campus housing tested for radon."

University

With 1,700 acres of land, 129 major buildings, and thousands of rooms, the University of Iowa has a massive footprint in Johnson County.

However, only four buildings and 11 rooms have been tested for radon since 2008. Each of the tests performed registered a level of radon below the EPA requirement of 4.0 picoCuries per liter.

UI spokesman Tom Moore said the UI has an effective preventative system in place to eliminate the need for routine testing.

"The testing that we have done has only found levels of radon that are not considered harmful by the Environmental Protection Agency, which seems to indicate that the university already has appropriate safeguards in place," Moore said. "In summary, the university appears to have an effective prevention strategy in place and testing seems to confirm that approach works."

Moore said the buildings maintain low levels of radon from the heating, ventilating, and cooling systems that mixes in outside air. He said this system is different than the ones used in residential homes.

"Most homes are negatively pressurized due to exhausting combustion air from the furnace and a natural stack effect of hot air rising to the highest point in the home, thus creating a negative pressure which naturally draws soil gases such as radon into the home," Moore said.

Bob Libra, who is Iowa's state geologist and works in Trowbridge Hall, said he has never thought about radon in his workplace.

"I never have been concerned," he said. "You're only here so much, but it's not that much."

Moore said the university responds to requests from faculty and staff to have their offices or buildings tested for radon and that the safety of their employees is of utmost importance.

School District

The average Iowa grade-school student is required to spend half the year in class, while a preschooler spends much less time hitting the books.

But in the Iowa City School District, testing for radon is only mandatory for preschool rooms and not all elementary schools, based on the licensing standards of the Iowa Department of Human Services.

In 1990, 535 radon tests were performed on all Iowa City School District buildings following a notice from the Iowa Department of Public Health recommending all schools in the state test — no such subsequent mass testing of all buildings has been performed since then.

Paul Schultz, the School District's director of the physical plant, said most of the tests came back with results below 4.0 picoCuries per liter, but 37 fell in the range of 4.0 to 20.

There was one outlier, a room at Lemme Elementary, that tested at 23.9 — if a test is above 100, it is strongly recommended that students relocate.

Schultz said "construction efforts" took place at Lemme in 1991, but he has no records indicating whether those efforts were strictly due to the high radon test results.

"This facility had a heating and air-conditioning project that would have allowed for more fresh-air exchange in 1991," he said.

Additional testing was performed in this location in 1991 and found to be 3.2 picoCuries per liter.

However, David Dude, the district's executive director of operational resources, said a new heating system was installed in 2004 in Lemme Elementary — 14 years after the radon results.

"The district installed a [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] system with ground source heat pumps that includes piping fresh air ventilation throughout Lemme," Dude said.

The district has not tested Wickham Elementary or North Central Junior High because they were built after the 1990 testing was performed, he said.

Few parents have expressed concern about radon, he said.

"About others inquiring [regarding radon concerns], I only know of one inquiry from a parent who also runs a home-safety-products business," Dude said.

Kelli Kucera, a Longfellow Elementary parent, said radon has never worried her.

"I haven't been concerned, but honestly, I haven't really looked into it," she said. "I don't remember the school sending anything home with students [about radon], so there's nothing that I'm aware of, but I could be wrong."

The district's preschools were tested in 2010 and will be tested again this year. The last test was at Hills Elementary and cost the district $125.

Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, said there is reluctance in the Legislature to further mandate any program on local governments such as school districts.

"Education efforts should continue, but it should be up to school districts and school boards to decide what to do rather than the state requiring what to do," he said.

However, Peggy Huppert, Iowa director of governmental relations for the American Cancer Society, said the states aren't doing enough to regulate schools, and she noted that children can attend the same school for many years.

"That's seven years in a [possibly] bad environment," she said. "But there is more concern for the staff. Some staffers are there for many more years, and they are exposed."

However, Schultz said he does not feel at risk for radon injuries in his work environment.

"I work in these buildings as well as our support services staff," Schultz said. "If I felt it was an unsafe working environment, I would notify the district administration."

Radon healers

A distinct tie to lung cancer would be enough for most people to shy away from radon, but not Briana Harris.

She thinks low level exposure is just fine.

Harris is the office manager for Merry Widow Health Mine in Montana — a group that takes people into a mountain tunnel for radon therapy — allowing them to sit and drink mine water.

She said she believes radon helps sick patients recover from arthritis and allergies, and it even cures bad cases of acne.

"I have to admit that when I first started working here, I was a true skeptic," she said. "I couldn't believe that something I had heard bad things about could possibly be good for you, but after a couple of months, I was convinced. I have seen people that could barely walk or move when they first arrived here literally be able to walk miles while doing their treatments."

Read this article: http://www.dailyiowan.com/2012/05/09/Metro/28364.html

Dangerous Level of Radon Gas in 34.5% of Utah Homes

RadonLeaders — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Noah Bond

SANDY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Our ABC 4 news investigates report is exposing a silent killer seeping into thousands of Utah homes.

It's a clear and odorless gas called radon. We mailed 16 radon test kits to homes across Utah. Six of the nine test kits, mailed to a lab for results before this story aired, uncovered dangerous levels of radon in the homes.

Connie Nordgren's home in Sandy tested the highest at 26.2, which is alarming. The EPA strongly recommends homeowners take action if a test kit finds a level of four or higher.

"That really concerns me. All of my loved ones have been in the basement," she said.

Experts say radon is a problem in Utah because of our unique geography. Uranium is pushed closer to the earth's surface by our mountains and when it decomposes that uranium produces radon gas.

This gas sits underground in open spaces, but often seeps into homes through basement cracks.

Then the radon gas makes its way inside your lungs where it can cause cancer.

"So are you surprised by the test results?" asked ABC 4's Noah Bond. "Yes. I didn't expect to have a level that high," replied Nordgren.

If 100 people lived in her basement for a lifetime, four would likely die of lung cancer.

Concerned with these findings, ABC 4's Noah Bond dug deeper into Utah's radon problem by tracing every radon test recorded by the Utah Department of Environmental quality in Utah in the last year; a total of 17,483.

The results reveal nearly four in every ten homes have radon levels above federal guidelines. Counties with the highest average level of radon are Beaver, Sevier, and Wasatch.

Charlie McQuinn wishes he knew about the dangers before discovering the tumor in his lung.

"Thought we ought to test, but just never got around to it because it didn't seem like something that was really threatening," said McQuinn.

Surgeons removed the upper portion of his left lung to save his life.

A test revealed a radon level of 4.1 in Charley's basement; far below Connie's 26.2 radon level, but still high enough to be a concern.

"I'm actually grateful that ours wasn't much higher because people would say, 'Well mine isn't any ways near that,'" McQuinn said.

And not only Charlie had health issues; three of his children with basement bedrooms developed cancer as well. They're alive thanks to life saving treatments.

"Now I know that I should have tested and it's easy to get rid of. It doesn't cost that much and I could have been free of lung cancer," said McQuinn.

So why aren't people testing their homes? ABC 4's Noah Bond discovered there are a lot of excuses..

"We looked at maps of the area that look at radon concentrations and our was not in an area that had a high radon concentration," said Ron Martin from Draper.

"I haven't because I have smoke detectors and it does the same thing it tests for radon too as for as what I was told," said Peggy Vernon from Vernal. This is actually is a misconception.

ABC 4 found the biggest setback is no one seems to know what a radon test costs. "To be honest with you, I'd be guessing, but probably around $100," guessed Martin.

It's way less, actually results cost a little effort, five first class stamps and $6. "Oh really," said Vernon. "Now with that information would you test your home for six dollars?" asked Bond. "Sure," Vernon replied.

"If that's the cost then I probably would get my home tested," said Martin.

And as the people who participated in our ABC 4 investigation learned; a little knowledge and money can save your life.

"I'm going to do a little research and call a company in and get this taken care of," said Nordgren.

The State of Utah has made arrangements for Utah residents to purchase Radon test kits at a reduced rate. This offer is limited to State of Utah residents only. The kits cost $6.

The EPA estimates radon kills 21,000 people in the United States every year.

Read the article: http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Dangerous-level-of-radon-gas-in-34-5-of-Utah-homes/DSPKNKlNCEi92SnQcKtEbA.cspx