RadonLeaders.org

ALAPA partners offering free radon test kits

mbrand — 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

Save the Date -- Region II Radon Stakeholder's Meeting (June 4, 2012)

RadonLeaders — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:08:34 +0000

Prescription for Radon A Medical Forum

June 4, 2012
Buffalo Niagara Convention Center
Buffalo, New York

Presented by: Erie County Department of Environment and Planning

PROGRAM GOAL & OBJECTIVES

Goal: To increase the healthcare professional’s knowledge
of radon in the environment and its associated
health risks.

Objectives:
Radon Basics For Healthcare Professionals

Explain the properties of radon
State the EPA indoor action level for radon exposure
List radon control measures

Overview Of Epidemiology Studies That Provides The Foundation Of Radon Research

Recognize the latest research and its implication for radon testing and mitigation
Describe the basis of the scientifi c data that supports radon progeny as a cause of lung cancer
Explain the role of tobacco smoking in radon risk reduction programs

Radon And The Mechanisms That Cause Lung Cancer

Discuss radon toxicity
Describe radon exposure pathways
Distinguish who is at risk for radon exposure

Radon And The World Health Organization

Identify effective strategies for reducing the health impact of radon
Understand the need to raise public and political awareness about the consequences of exposure to radon

Personal Radon Story

Describe the patient’s perspective in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer associated with nonsmokers

Risk Communication

Discuss effective strategies to communicate risk of radon exposure to improve patient health outcomes

Radon Resources: Where To Get What You Need To Share Information With Your Patients

List three sources of information on radon

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION

This program is not yet approved for CME credit. Conference organizers plan to request six hours of AMA PRA Category 1 credits from the Medical Society of the State of New York. Total number of approved credits is yet to be determined.

For registration questions please call CRCPD: (502) 227-4543.

For other questions please call Erie Co. Dept. of
Environment & Planning: (716) 858-6370.

Link to: Agenda, Registration Form and Online Registration Details

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

Reading, Writing and Radon

RadonLeaders — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Morgan Ottier

map.jpg

You can't see it, you can't touch it, you can't taste it, and you can't smell it.

Radon develops from the breakdown of soil and rock, seeping into buildings and the air we breathe. University of Iowa Professor Bill Field is on of the world's foremost experts on radon. He says chronic exposure to the gas could be deadly;

"If you're very unlucky you can be exposed to radon for just a couple of weeks and from that exposure, develop lung cancer."

Radon levels vary from state to state across the country, but Iowa and most of Illinois are considered "ground zero" for the radioactive, cancer-causing gas. And the places we expect to be safe, could be far from it.

Dr. Field estimates 90,000 classrooms nationwide are riddles with radon; our youth being exposed to it everyday.

"When you send your kids to school you don't want your kids smoking, parents would be very upset if they smoked. But a lot of times they're going into school where the radon concentrations are very similar to making your kids smoke a handful of cigarettes each day."

While many kids are sitting in school ready to expand their minds, their lungs could be taking a beating.

"Kids are more radiosensitive to radiation than adults are," Field said, "They're rapidly growing, they're having more cell divisions and they can have a defect occur when they're very young that doesn't manifest until later in life."

Even if exposed to a carcinogen at a young age, people don't usually see lung cancer develop until after age 40. That's what happened to former school teacher, Gail Orcutt.

"I don't smoke I don't live with a smoker I've never worked around smoke. It just wasn't possible." Gail Orcutt was diagnosed with lung cancer and she didn't understand why;

"Six physicians knew about my situation, and none of them ever mentioned radon."

Gail finally came across an article about non-smokers and radon. It was the first time she had seen the dismal, six-letter word. She bought a test kit at the hardware store that very day. Sure enough, her home was above the EPA recommended action level of 4.0 pCi/L. Gail was fighting a cancer caused by radon.

Although radon levels in her home were high, Gail still doesn't know if she was exposed during her 30 years as a teacher.

"No one has ever tested. It's something I've always been wondering," Gail said. "If I wasn't leaving home where I was exposed to radon and going to work where I might have been exposed to radon also."

But Gail's former school isn't alone. Most schools don't test.

Gail, a woman who has managed to survive a deadly cancer, wonders what's taking so long. "If your roof was leaking, you would fix it, you wouldn't let it damage your home," Gail said in frustration.

"But radon could be damaging your lungs, radon could be taking your life."

Many of the QCA school district we spoke with don't test. School officials say it's not in the budget.

But Dr. Bill Field says radon testing is something schools can't afford to avoid.

"We have the right to know if our kids are being exposed to a carcinogen. We have the right to know if you're an employee at a school, if you're being exposed to radon as well."

The Risks of Radon

RadonLeaders — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

George James

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Now is a very good time to test your home for radon.

Radon alone is attributable to 2,900 deaths a year from lung cancer and is responsible for about half of our total lifetime exposure to radiation.

It is a heavy, colorless, odorless gas that emerges from the ground and collects in cellars and the lower floors of houses, especially in the months when windows are closed and heating draws radon through any leaks or below-ground openings into the house.

It is easy to test for radon. Very inexpensive test kits are readily available online and at some hardware stores. Place the kit in your cellar or first floor away from any windows for a period of two to seven days. Test results are measured in pico curries per liter of air (pci/L).

A reading of 4 pci/L or higher suggests a second test and may require some remediation, which is usually easily accomplished and at low cost when compared to the health risks associated with the gas. Even readings slightly below 4 pci/L may be cause for action if there are small children in the household or smokers because radon multiplies the cancer risks from smoking.

Old Lyme homes do have radon. When 169 homes reported test results in 1988, 58 tested between 2 and 4 pci/L. Forty-one tested above 4 pci/L. One tested between 20 and 40 pci/L and one tested between 40 and 100 pci/L.

When a house tests high radon numbers, it is best to have a professional test the house with more sensitive instruments and have them create a remediation plan. Normally, the sale of a home in Old Lyme requires a radon test, but why wait until then?

St. Patrick is reputed to have driven the snakes out of Ireland, protecting the people from certain danger. A simple test will make sure your family is safe from equally certain danger.

Read the article: http://www.lymeline.com/news.php?viewStory=5395

Radon Risk Ractor for Homes if Unchecked

RadonLeaders — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

By Trevor Jones, Berkshire Eagle

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PITTSFIELD -- When Dorothy Curtiss went shopping for a home, a potential cancer-causing agent wasn't on her list of things to check for.

But Curtiss found bad news in the form of radon -- a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas that had seeped into her basement to a degree that is more than twice the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recommended action level.

On the suggestion of her real-estate agent, Curtiss asked an inspector to place a radon detector in her basement before the sale was finalized, a decision she calls the "best $75 I've ever spent."

Curtiss, who bought her home on Velma Avenue seven weeks ago, said she was nervous about the threat, but was resolute in her desire to live there and fix the problem.

The test showed her radon level was 8.6 picocuries per liter, or pCi/L -- the EPA recommends fixing the problem at 4 pCi/L -- and she hired a certified specialist to install a system to ventilate the potential carcinogen as part of the final sales agreement.

Problem solved, relatively easily.

"I didn't paint a wall or put a picture up -- getting that taken care of was the first thing I did," Curtiss said.

Curtiss' situation isn't uncommon in the Berkshires, where an estimated 20 percent of homes have elevated levels of the gas -- according to local radon experts -- but not everyone is aware of the threat it poses.

Radon is a naturally radioactive gas produced by the decay of uranium and radium. It is ubiquitous in nature and poses little health risks in the open air, but it turns into a problem when the gas becomes contained.

Radon originates in the ground in soil and rocks and rises to the surface through the path of least resistance. That translates to potential problems for homes resting on cracked foundations or other gaps in the ground. Excessive insulation in homes with poor ventilation also can trap the gas.

The EPA estimates that 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year are related to long-term exposure to radon. That's more than the number of deaths attributed to drunk driving, drowning and building fires combined, and radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking.

That's more than the number of deaths attributed to drunk driving, drowning and building fires combined, and radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking. The Centers for Disease Control says there were more than 158,000 lung-cancer related deaths in the United States in 2007, the most recent year numbers were available.

Radon also creates a multiplier effect on the health risks for smokers who live in a house with elevated levels of the gas.

James J. Wilusz, director of the Tri-Town Health Depart ment, which serves Stock bridge, Lee and Lenox, said part of the lack of public action is because radon's health effects aren't immediate.

"Radon is always an ongoing public health issue because you can't smell it or see it," he said. "People never think it's around."

Wilusz said it's the type of threat that people might know about, but it often falls by the wayside because of assumptions about costs or inconvenience.

Wilusz ran into radon problems in 2008 while serving as the director of the Pittsfield Health Department. Employees told him radon testing had been conducted in City Hall in the 1970s or 1980s, but it wasn't until Wilusz brought in outside funds to do a more thorough test that town officials were certain radon was well above the recommended action level.

"Until it gets brought to light, no one ever really knows," Wilusz said.

A system was installed in City Hall soon after testing was completed, and radon levels quickly dropped to an acceptable level.

Suzanne Condon, director of environmental health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said our inability to detect radon plays a role in the lack of awareness. And with more people remodeling their basements, radon should be on their minds.

"If you go into a damp, musty area, you can smell there might be the possibility for mold there," Condon said. "With radon, you can't smell it, so it doesn't immediately jump to people's mind when they're doing these kinds of renovations."

The good news is that for all of the danger that radon can pose, resolving any airborne threat is relatively simple.

Public health officials urge home or business owners to install radon detection kits in their basement to see if the level rises above the precautionary mark. Kits can be bought at local hardware stores for as little as $20, though officials suggest calling a professional for the most accurate reading.

The most common time that radon issues are detected is during the home-buying process, so real-estate agents and health officials recommend having homes tested as part of the inspection process.

A statewide survey conducted by the DPH in the late 1980s found that 24 percent of homes had radon levels above the recommended action level. That is the most recent survey conducted by the DPH. Because the state's geology hasn't changed since then, a need to repeat the survey hasn't been identified.

The highest radon concentrations in Massachusetts were found in Worcester, Middlesex and Essex counties. The median level in Berkshire County was about 2 pCi/L during that survey, and the EPA currently classifies the county as a moderate risk zone.

Local home inspectors who deal with radon testing estimate that at least 20 percent of local homes have elevated radon levels, with parts of Housatonic, West Stock bridge, Sheffield and Williamstown being known for higher concentrations.

Counties in neighboring New York state are in a high risk zone, according to the EPA.

Radon levels are broadly connected with geography and soil composition, with ridgelines and loosely packed ground likely to find higher levels of airborne release. But levels can vary widely within regions and even between neighboring homes. That's why Condon says everyone who is unsure should have a home test performed.

"What we've tried to do is to put out the message that if you're concerned, you should get tested anyway," Condon said, noting that the DPH staff can offer free help with finding test kits or radon service providers and the reading of results.

While many people assume older homes are more susceptible to radon, that's not necessarily true. Radon can be found in new or old homes, drafty or well-sealed homes, and homes with and without basements, according to the EPA.

If radon levels are found to be high, the next step involves calling a specialist to install a system to vent the gas outside. These systems can range from $1,200 to several thousand dollars, depending on the circumstances.

"I've never seen a house that couldn't be fixed," said Drew Finn of Finn Home Inspections.

Finn says he has completed more than 13,000 home inspections locally and has worked on more than 450 remediation projects for sites with radon issues.

He said the typical solution involves drilling holes in a basement and connecting them with a PVC pipe to a fan that creates a vacuum and releases the gas above the roof line.

Finn installed a system for Curtiss, and she says she is comforted by the low hum of the exterior fan, a reminder that her home is now safe.

"It's a very easy fix for such a potentially dangerous health issue," Curtiss said.

Cancer-Causing Radon Escapes from Legislative Attention

RadonLeaders — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Mackenzie Elmer, IowaWatch Staff Writer and Web Manager

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Radon, typically found in the basement of a house, kills 400 Iowans a year, but the state health department cannot carry out a state law designed to help protect residents from the deadly gas because it doesn’t have any staff to do so.

Hundreds of radon mitigation systems that are supposed to funnel toxic gas out of basements are not getting tested and could be defective.

Classified as a class A carcinogen like arsenic and asbestos, the colorless and odorless gas causes lung cancer when radon decay particles attach to dust and are breathed into the lungs and damage the DNA, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The law says we’re supposed to do inspections but we can’t because we don’t have the funds to do it,” said Rick Welke, radon program manager at the Iowa Department of Public Health. “There’s people installing 200 systems a year, and they’ve never been inspected.”

Dr. Bill Field, a world-renowned radon expert and professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, says radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked. It is also the seventh leading cause of cancer death overall.

When people contract radon-induced lung cancer they rarely survive. Gail Orcutt is one of the few who did.

“It seems like people think radon is something they can choose to believe,” said Orcutt. “I keep looking for someone like me, so I’d have someone to visit with.” But she’s the only radon cancer survivor she knows in Iowa.

Orcutt was diagnosed with lung cancer in May of 2010 after an unceasing cough prompted doctors to give her a chest X-ray. She had her office and family room in the basement of their 1974 home in Pleasant Hill, Iowa. She spent a lot of time in her split foyer basement where the computer was. She says a lot of people think basements with outside-access are an excuse not to test.

Mark Lambert, an administrative judge in Polk City, Iowa, lost his wife Debra Fincham, a non-smoker, in January to what he believes was radon-induced lung cancer.

“She went through chemo and radiation, but it was too far advanced to do surgery,” said Lambert, who has two young daughters. “That’s the thing about lung cancer, you often don’t have symptoms until it’s too far along.”

Debra was a physician’s assistant and tested both of their houses for radon, but her doctors said the exposure had happened possibly sometime in her twenties.

Field explained that while lung cancer generally does not develop until after age 40, radon can cause damage in the cells that manifest as cancer later in life.

Soon to be an unfunded mandate?

Iowa law requires that the department of public health inspect installed mitigation systems to make sure they are up to EPA code. However, the law is rarely upheld.

“To be honest, every inspector knows you could find a problem in just about every system you see,” Welke said.

EPA code says that once a radon mitigation system is installed, the system should be checked no later than 30 days after installation, and sometimes that job is left for the untrained homeowner.

Mitigation is a bustling business, and the health department would like to use money generated from teaching and licensing radon specialists. The number of people getting licensed in Iowa has gone up from 30 to over 200 since 2000. That’s a potential $154,855 just from licensing fees in 2011 that could have paid for at least two inspectors’ salaries, Welke said.

Tony Carson of Radon Solutions of Iowa based in Coralville says he moved to Iowa from Indiana just to start a radon mitigation business. “Iowa’s the worst state for it [radon],” he said.

"Buildings are being built that are not radon resistant faster than the radon concentrations in existing homes are being reduced." ~Bill Field

In the last Iowa legislative session, four different lawmakers tried to introduce comprehensive radon reform, but all the bills failed.

Rep. Dan Kelley, D-Newton, wanted a bill that would mandate radon-resistant new construction. Kelley, a realtor by trade, says he will resubmit his bill next session.

“I believe radon tests should be part of a home inspection, whether someone is buying, selling or lived in the home for many years,” he said

Rep. Ralph Watts, R-Adel, isn’t convinced radon is a problem.

“Just because the EPA says something doesn’t mean it’s backed by facts,” he said. “I’ve looked at all kinds of evidence of global warming and none of it has taken place in the last ten years.” But what would convince him, he says, is scientific evidence that radon causes lung cancer.

“It’s a problem with a lot of things we do. It’s propelled by junk science and rumor and innuendo rather than solid scientific evidence,” he said. He hadn’t yet seen Field’s study.

Right now, neither testing nor radon mitigation systems are obligatory, but Iowa Code does require realtors to provide a radon fact sheet and includes that buyers must read and sign.

"Remember, the IDPH, the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association, and the Surgeon General recommend radon testing all new and existing homes for radon in Iowa before they are sold or before they are transferred to a different owner." ~Iowa Radon Home-Buyers and Sellers Fact Sheet

There’s already a lack of funding to carry out what state law mandates. One option to fill the funding hole is to recycle fees generated from licensing radon contractors back into the radon program.

“The program isn’t able to expand, it can hardly do what it’s supposed to do in the first place,” Welke said. He says the program does generate money from fees, but it doesn’t come back to the department so it can perform inspections. “They [government] really aren’t following their own law.”

Bob Dye, EPA radiation program manager for region seven, said if the budget passes it will do away with all federal radon grants to states.

Right now, the annual State Indoor Radon Grant is the only thing that funds the program, most of which goes to three staff members, the American Lung Association activities and mini-grants to counties. But nothing is used for inspections.

Welke’s department could be saved if legislators decide to recycle the nearly $200,000 generated annually from licensing fees back into the program. Right now, that money goes into the state general fund where the department can’t touch it.

Welke says it would be impossible to inspect the almost 3,000 systems installed a year, but the department should hire at least two inspectors to oversee the 74 licensed mitigation specialists in the state.

The Iowa Legislature passed the law setting up the radon program and mandating inspections in 1987, but did not appropriate funds to implement the inspections.

Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls, tried to remedy that with a bill earlier this year. “That bill’s dead. It’s deader than dead. It’s decomposing,” he said, but he wants to reintroduce it again next year.

“Iowa’s law is pretty pathetic,” said Peggy Huppert, Iowa director of government relations at American Cancer Society. However, she added that “There’s no national radon resource center or state that has a model radon law.”

Kressig hadn’t heard that there is a lack of inspectors in the department. “It’s very frustrating to me. If he [Welke] would have been able to tell me that this is an issue now, I could have addressed it.”

Kressig said he will put in a request at the state level this week to look at the lack of inspectors in Welke’s department. “We should do a little research on our own,” he said.

Welke said his concerns are seemingly unheard by government officials. “I can’t lobby, they have to come to me. That’s the problem, they don’t usually come to the right people.”

Huppert blames the new administration at the public health department. She says the director does not allow her staff to go to the capitol without permission.

“It’s a problem when you have a public health department where the head doesn’t think they should promote health,” she said.

Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says there is no such policy that prohibits anyone from speaking to legislators or the press. But, staff must fill out a form explaining what they said and to whom.

“That’s not what I’m being told,” Welke said. “To be honest they’re very strict on that. We were never able to talk to the legislature. Legislators can call us, but we can’t initiate it.”

Kressig doesn’t blame the director but says a new house rule imposed last year prevents departments from lobbying legislators without obtaining permission from the governor’s office.

Not enough training

Welke says apart from funding difficulties, the standards are lax when it comes to training new radon mitigation specialists.

“I don’t think the exam for mitigation is hard enough and the [course] should be twice as long. I don’t think the people get what they really should in three-and-a-half days of training,” said Welke, who runs the licensing course held twice a year in Des Moines.

The exam is called the Radon Contractors Proficiency Examination. It is a certification program administered by the National Environmental Health Association.

Dean Berchenbriter is a licensed specialist in radon mitigation and testing. He says he installs around 200 systems per year.

“I’ve never had anybody inspect my system except the person who’s hiring me to do the work,” he said.

He took the test in Columbus, Ohio, instead of waiting for the next round of courses in Iowa. “It wasn’t an easy test,” he said. Berchenbriter has a geology background, but he says most of the people in his class were in the home remodeling business. Experience in construction or a degree in a relevant field is required to qualify for a license.

Fred Dowie of Autum Ridge Development in Indianola automatically adds the piping for a mitigation system on every new home he builds. (see graphic) He started doing it seven years ago when he was looking to build a personal home and ran across information about radon.

“I put in a system no matter what,” he said. “I couldn’t live with the thought of my grandkids playing in a place full of radon gas that causes lung cancer, and I can’t live with the thought of someone else’s kids living with that either.”

It’s easier and cheaper to put in a mitigation system at the start of house construction. Dowie says that if the law doesn’t require mitigation systems, construction companies are not going to spend the money to do it.

After the death of his wife, Lambert and his family are starting a new life in a new home, where he paid to have a mitigation system installed.

“It’s hard on my daughters. They’re 11 and growing up without a mom. It’s tough on me, you know. I just think, given the level of radon in Iowa, there has to be some more steps taken,” he said.

Taking further steps will require more money, Welke said.

“If we don’t get the money, I don’t know what the department would do with the program,” he said. “If they decided to close the licensing program, the public wouldn’t have any way of protecting themselves from unscrupulous people…anybody could walk in and start mitigating and measuring radon and tell a lot of lies. There would be no oversight at all.”

To read the article: http://www.iowawatch.org/?p=7920