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Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks Highlights and Lessons Learned
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Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks - US EPA · Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks ... although it is important to ... radon risk areas. Radon education is now an essential

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Page 1: Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks - US EPA · Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks ... although it is important to ... radon risk areas. Radon education is now an essential

Local Effortsto ReduceRadon RisksHighlights andLessons Learned

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1EPA estimates that radon-resistant techniques applied to new construction cost an average of $350 to $500, although it is important torecognize that variability in pricing is inevitable depending on material costs, new code requirements, existing code requirements, andlocality.

Long-term exposure to indoor radon can be deadly. Radon is theleading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers, and second only to smoking for the entirepopulation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 20,000Americans die of radon-related lung cancer every year. Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturallyoccurring radioactive gas. Radon seeps into homes and buildings through cracks in thefoundation or walls, and can accumulate over time in homes that are not properly vented. TheSurgeon General issued a health advisory for radon in 2005, stating that millions of homes haveelevated radon levels. The advisory encourages everyone to test their home for radon every 2years, and to retest after moving, making structural changes, or occupying a previously unusedlevel of a house. EPA recommends that people take action if they find radon at levels greaterthan or equal to 4 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L). Visit www.epa.gov/radon for moreinformation on how to test your home for radon.

The good news is that when elevated radon levels are found they can be reduced, and newhomes can be built using easy and inexpensive radon-resistant construction techniques. EPAencourages the building and real estate communities and all new home buyers to demandradon-resistant new construction (RRNC).1 EPA also urges people to test their homes forradon, and to install systems to vent radon from their homes if they find levels at or exceedingthe 4 pCi/L action level.

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In the stories below, you will read about people who educated their families, neighbors, colleagues,and communities, and challenged local builders, governments, code enforcement officials, andothers to protect the public from indoor radon. These stories make clear that protecting publichealth from indoor radon requires a community effort. They also show that one person armed withfacts, persistence, and a commitment to health and safety can change minds and motivate action toreduce the harmful effects of radon. EPA hopes their efforts inspire others to take action.

Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks:Highlights and Lessons Learned

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Illinois: School Science Lesson Inspires Students to Environmental PolicyAdvocacySuccess: Teachers and Students Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks Strengthens Residential Building Permits

When Deborah Clinebell set out to teach her eighth-grade science class in Waterloo, Illinois, about atomicstructure, she had no idea that choosing radon as thesubject would turn into a lesson about far more thanchemistry. Expanding her traditional chemistry lectureto include information about the environmental healtheffects of radon, Deborah told her students aboutincreased lung cancer risks when radon levels insidehomes increase. When she informed the students that 46percent of the houses tested in their home county ofMonroe had radon at or above EPA’s 4 pCi/L actionlevel, their overwhelming interest convinced Deborahthat an opportunity for interdisciplinary learning was athand.

Deborah’s lesson on atoms quickly turned into anexercise that touched on communications, broadened tomath, and spread to civics. She and her students beganby writing letters to school families about simple in-home radon tests that convinced some 200 students andteachers to test their homes. Deborah then enlisted thehelp of her colleague—math teacher Carrie Stewart—who, with a group of junior high students, compiled andanalyzed the radon data. They posted the test resultsonline so that other math and science classes couldretrieve them. Armed with their own real test results andspreadsheet software, the students learned how tostatistically analyze data. And they learned somethingabout the scientific method and repeatability when theirresults showed that 34 percent of the homes they tested

for their project had radon levels above 4 pCi/L, con-firming the previous finding that radon is a serious issuein their community.

Deborah and Carriewere also acquaintedwith the NationalCenter forSupercomputingApplications (NCSA)at the University ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign. Theyknew that the NCSA’sEducation, Outreach,and Training Divisiondevelops programs foreducators, engineers,and scientists to helpthem disseminateadvanced technologiesas learning tools inK-12 schools. Recognizing that the students’ growinginterest in radon issues perfectly fit with the Center’smission, Deborah and Carrie initiated a partnership withthe Center, which gave the eighth graders access to ageographic information system (GIS). This GIS technol-ogy enabled the students to create maps of their surveyarea and actually see how the radon concentrations weredistributed.

Deborah’s studentsshowed anoverwhelming interestin her assignment. Herlesson on atomicstructure quicklyturned into an exerciseon communications,math, and civics.

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Encouraged by their results and the continued enthusi-asm of their teachers, a team of students at WaterlooJunior High decided to compete in Project Citizen, anational civic education program open to fifth througheighth graders. Coordinated in Illinois by the Constitu-tional Rights Foundation of Chicago, Project Citizenprovides students with an opportunity to learn how tomonitor and influence public policy and promotes civicparticipation among students, their parents, and mem-bers of the community. Eric Major, a Waterloo’s civicsteacher, coached the students and helped them develop aproposal to require that short-term radon tests beconducted in all homes before they are sold. Ericpresented the students’ proposal to the Mayor of Water-loo. Impressed with their analysis, presentation, andexcitement, the Mayor referred the students’ draftproposal to the Waterloo Health Committee. Upon theCommittee’s recommendation, the Mayor officiallypassed a resolution on November 1, 2004, affirming thatthe town of Waterloo understands the risks of radon andrecommends short-term radon testing. After a secondyear of testing, another Project Citizen team prepared aneven more ambitious proposal, which Eric also presentedto the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. Thestudents’ proposal was unanimously approved and, as aresult, all residential building permits in Monroe Countyinclude two new elements about radon: (1) information

about the health risks of radon and (2) recommenda-tions for building new homes using Radon ResistantNew Construction (RRNC) techniques.

Their understanding of the health risks of radon and theinspiration of a chemistry teacher, a math teacher, and acivics teacher made a big impact on the learning experi-ence of junior high students in a small town in south-western Illinois. Deborah Clinebell, Carrie Stewart, andEric Major recognized and took advantage of thevaluable educational opportunity that the radon issueprovided. Through their NCSA partnership, Deborahand Carrie developed a Web-based learning module thatjunior high school science and math teachers across thecountry can replicate. They helped NCSA design acustomizable lesson plan that schools can use to analyzeresidential radon levels in their local communities. Theirmodule teaches students to apply the scientific methodto gather data; design data analyses to answer a specificscientific question; use computer technology to analyzethe data (spreadsheets and GIS); post data to an onlinedatabase for sharing; and create a visually effectivepresentation of the results. The Waterloo Junior Highexperience that began as a simple lesson on atomicstructure demonstrates how enthusiastic teachers andstudents can educate their communities and influencepublic policy to reduce radon-related health risks.

Jennifer Langton is the Environmental ResourcesSpecialist at Habitat for Humanity International. She isalso a champion of RRNC. Jennifer’s introduction to thehealth risks of radon occurred when she read about anew Habitat program funded by EPA, the HealthyHomes Program. The program’s goal is to educateconstruction staff and homeowners about indoor airquality and health issues, including the critical subject ofradon. The connection between Habitat’s commitmentto provide decent and affordable homes and the need tokeep homes safe by preventing indoor radon risks wasimmediately apparent. And so began Jennifer Langton’squest to educate herself and the Habitat communityabout radon.

Jennifer’s search for radon information began much likethat of any other person interested in environmentalissues—she contacted EPA. She learned that certain

geographical areas tend to be at greatest risk. She alsolearned that an EPA regional radon training center waslocated in her backyard. The Southern Regional RadonTraining Center (one of four across the United States)offers training for builders, realtors, architects, andothers in the home building business on radon measure-ment and abatement. Jennifer arranged for the center topresent information about radon and RRNC to Habitatvolunteers and staff in the region. She also developedher own slide presentation that she uses when teachingHabitat construction staff around the country torecognize the importance of properly installing radonmitigation systems. She supplements her own presenta-tion with technical information on proper installationfrom EPA and other sources .

Jimmy Carter’s Work Project in Anniston, Alabama, wasone of the first Habitat projects to benefit from Jennifer’s

Habitat for Humanity: One Woman Changes Policy to Include RRNC for New HomesSuccess: A Popular, Influential Charity Now Provides Education and Support to Reduce Radon Exposure

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efforts to reduce radon risks. Knowing from her researchthat parts of Alabama have a particularly high risk ofelevated radon levels, Jennifer contacted the Annistonproject’s Special Projects Manager—Scott Montjoy—tofind out whether the project had considered radon as anissue. Scott acknowledged that RRNC techniques shouldbe used for the 35 houses under construction, but he

also knew that the fundingfor the project was alreadyset. Nevertheless, Jenniferwas not about to bethwarted by lack of funding.She found the additionalsupport needed to build all35 homes with RRNC bypartnering with the AlabamaExtension Service’s Radonprogram. The ExtensionService became involvedwhen Jennifer sought theirhelp to equip every home inHabitat’s Anniston Projectwith a radon-mitigationsystem. “Before my brainengaged with my mouth, Isaid, ‘Why sure we can!’”recalled Sabrina Lyle, anExtension Radon EducationTechnician in MadisonCounty. In just a few short

weeks, Sabrina built an impressive working partnershipamong several public and private organizations to secure

the needed funding to build 35 new houses with radon-resistant features. Sabrina’s partners included the Ameri-can Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists(AARST), the Southern Regional Radon TrainingCenter, Radalink, Radon Control, Inc., Radonaway, andFantech.

“This is really the first time Extension has worked withHabitat for Humanity to do a large-scale communitydevelopment activity,” said Dr. Harry Strawn, an Ala-bama Cooperative Extension economist and Radonprogram coordinator. “We have the opportunity to workwith private industry and other organizations to helpbuild a new community where one did not exist before,and that’s community development at its best.”

Jennifer Langton’s perseverance in increasing radonawareness among Habitat builders and her demonstra-tion that radon reduction should be and can be anintegral part of all homebuilding projects has changedthe way Habitat does business. Before her work, Habitatconsidered radon a separate issue. The volunteer organi-zation now routinely covers the minimal additional coststo incorporate RRNC into new building projects in highradon risk areas. Radon education is now an essentialpart of Habitat’s workshop training on general construc-tion for local affiliates around the country and Habitatnow promotes RRNC for all new construction projectsnationwide. From a random sample of highest-produc-ing affiliates in 2002, 36 percent of the houses Habitatbuilt used RRNC. One woman’s efforts have made aremarkable difference in how one highly visible organiza-tion addresses radon and its health risks.

Jenniferimmediately saw aconnection betweenHabitat’scommitment toprovide decent andaffordable homesand the need tokeep homes safe bypreventing indoorradon risks.

Illinois: “Radon Rebate” Reduces Health Risks in East MolineSuccess: City Mandates RRNC Building Plans and Provides Radon Test Kits to New Homeowners

When Tom Dickey—the Health Inspector of EastMoline in Rock Island County, Illinois—began perusinghis latest copy of the Journal of Environmental Health, anad for a workshop on RRNC caught his eye. Tom knewthat half the homes tested for radon in his county haveradon levels above EPA’s action level. So when theopportunity to learn more about radon’s threat to publichealth arose, he decided to attend the workshop andexplore what might be done to foster more awareness ofand address radon-related health risks in East Moline.

Upon returning to East Moline, Tom was eager to sharewhat he had learned. Fortunately, he found the perfectaudience right next door. His office is next to the office

of Butch Motzer, East Moline’s Plumbing and HeatingInspector. Tom’s invitation to Butch to join him for acup of coffee marked the beginning of a mutuallysupportive working relationship that became a key factorin the success of what was to become their community’sradon initiative.

Tom’s responsibility for public health protection andButch’s knowledge of plumbing and heating require-ments in new homes proved to be a perfect complement.Tom’s enthusiasm was immediately apparent to Butch,and the two city inspectors wasted no time in laying thefoundation for a plan to get local builders to incorporate

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RRNC into their projects. They began by listing theextra materials a builder would need to install a radonmitigation system. Using this list, they estimated theadditional cost and realized the materials would addabout $150 to construction costs.

Thus was born the idea of the “Radon Rebate.” Whencontractors apply for new home permits in East Moline,they pay a standard fee. If contractors agreed to incorpo-rate RRNC into their building plans, the city woulddeduct $150 from the permit fees. The two saw thisproposal as an all-around win: Contractors would loseno money on the projects, the city would pay no moneyfor the effort, and the people of East Moline wouldknow their new homes are most likely safe from the riskof radon.

When Tom and Butch presented their idea to EastMoline’s Building Inspector, he supported it withouthesitation and seconded their next planned move. Theypresented the plan to the City Council, where it metwith unanimous approval. The Radon Rebate programwas well on its way to helping East Moline address itsradon risk.

Before a permit could be issued, contractors wererequired to meet with Tom, who gave them informationfrom EPA on RRNC techniques. Tom took on theresponsibility for completing three inspections at variousstages of construction, including sharing radon informa-tion with the new homeowner as part of the finalinspection. He also told homeowners that, even thoughtheir new home had been built using RRNC techniques,the absence of radon could not be guaranteed. Tomtherefore recommended radon testing and, to reinforcethis point, offered free radon tests.

Butch was busy too. He offered hands-on demonstra-tions to plumbers and contractors to show them how toinstall a radon mitigation system. Any resistance on their

part quickly disappeared once they saw how simple theinstallation was.

As a voluntary program, East Moline’s Radon Rebateprogram became hugely successful. Only a few buildersdid not take advantage of the rebate. When the commu-nity determined that the time was right to make theprogram mandatory, Tom and Butch paid a second visitto the City Council, this time with real results todemonstrate the success of the program. Their secondpresentation persuaded the City Council not only tosupport a mandatory program, but also to continueproviding builders with the rebate. The Council alsopassed a requirement for the Health Department to offerradon test kits to homeowners within 6 months ofbuilding occupancy. By providing radon test kits to newhomeowners, the Health Department could supportassessments to determinehow well the radon mitiga-tion systems were workingand could encourageadjustments if the systemswere not functioningoptimally.

The East Moline RadonRebate program is anexample of how a commonsense initiative to improveenvironmental health metwith support at every levelof local government. Theconscientiousness andinnovation of two cityinspectors resulted in a program that not only workedwell for one small community in Illinois, but also madeso much sense it practically promoted itself. Butchsummed up the experience by saying, “All Tom and I didwas go out for a cup of coffee. Who knew it would turninto something so big?”

“All Tom and I didwas go out for acup of coffee. Whoknew it would turninto something sobig?”

Massachusetts: Belchertown Responds Swiftly to High Radon LevelsSuccess: Radon Outreach, Testing, and Mitigation Protects an Entire School District

As the Director of Buildings and Grounds for theBelchertown School District in Massachusetts, BobLachance’s attendance at a Healthy Schools Networkmeeting was all in a day’s work. So when he set out forthe meeting, he had no idea that hearing Bill Bell’s shortpresentation would ultimately catalyze school and townofficials into an award-winning community effort toreduce elevated radon levels in his school system. After

hearing Mr. Bell—a radiation control officer with theMassachusetts Radiation Control Program—speak aboutradon, Bob was convinced that radon is an importantissue for his community and that people would want toknow about radon’s health risk and how to manage it.When he returned from the meeting, he arranged tohave all seven of his school district’s buildings tested forradon. He called on the Massachusetts Department of

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Belchertown’s take-charge approach isa model example ofa town’s swiftaction to lowerradon levels in itspublic schools.

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Public Health for help and,working with Roger Perrasand school facilities staff,placed and collected morethan 400 radon tests andassociated quality assurancetests throughout the schoolbuildings.

When tests revealedelevated radon levels at theSwift River ElementarySchool, school officialsresponded quickly anddecisively. Bob asked Bill tomake a presentation to theteachers and staff aboutradon. Officials explainedthat the radon testing hadbeen initiated as a screening

exercise—it was not prompted by any reports of healthproblems. They also reassured the staff that their evalua-tion and resolution of the high readings at Swift Riverwould be thoughtful and thorough. Officials then metwith parents for an open seminar the following week andsent a newsletter home with students to explain thesituation. This communications effort paid off: “Aftersome initial staff discomfort,” said Bob, “theBelchertown School District earned the trust of thiscommunity.”

With technical support from the Massachusetts Depart-ment of Public Health, the School District promptlyinstalled several temporary sub-slab depressurizationsystems to prevent radon gas from entering the school.They documented the resulting reduction in radonconcentrations with more than 3,500 hours of monitor-ing and some 250 passive radon detectors. Over summerbreak, the District installed five permanent mitigationsystems. Today the school community in Belchertowncan breathe more easily—radon readings at the SwiftRiver School are now well below EPA’s action level.

Belchertown’s take-charge approach to radon testing,efforts to alert the school community to the findingswithout alarming them, and swift action to lower radonlevels illustrate a model approach to protecting thepublic from exposure to radon. In January of 2005, EPArecognized school and town officials with a nationalaward for outstanding work to reduce elevated radonlevels in a school system.

Accepting the award for the school district, Richard A.Pazasis, Superintendent of Schools forBelchertown, said, “On behalf of everyone connectedwith the School District, I am proud that we are beingrecognized with this award. Belchertown consistentlyadheres to its number one district-wide goal to protectthe health and safety of all students, school personnel,and visitors. This goal includes payingattention to the ever-changing environmental challengesthat schools face. I thank everyone who worked with usto make this effort a success.”

Belchertown’stake-chargeapproach is amodel example ofa town’s swiftaction to lowerradon levels in itspublic schools.

Julie Dutton is a local County Extension Agent forMorgan County in Alabama. In 2001 when Julieinformed the City of Decatur’s Council members of thecounty’s high radon risk and explained the serious healthconsequence of radon exposure, she touched off a two-year public debate on the city’s building code. With thebuilding industry lobbying against including RRNC inthe new building code, the Council concluded that thecost of installing passive radon reduction systems wastoo high to impose on builders and new home buyers.The debate might have ended then, save for the efforts ofa dedicated journalist at The Decatur Daily and a pas-sionate doctor at the Decatur General Oncology Center.Instead, five other Alabama Counties ultimately followedDecatur’s lead to require RNNC. Julie credits the

newspaper articles, saying that the proposed buildingcode change “was tabled and tabled and tabled. If youwant something to go away, just table it. The newspaperarticles really made the difference.” (September 25,2002, The Decatur Daily, online edition.)

Eric Fleischauer, an investigative reporter, sensed a storyin the Council’s opposition to the RRNC requirementand followed through on his journalistic hunch. FromApril to September of 2002, he wrote, and the DecaturDaily published, no fewer than 16 articles about radonand RRNC. To ensure the public understood radon-related health risk and was fully informed about theCouncil’s ongoing debate, he wrote fact-based butprovocative pieces with hard-to-ignore titles like, A Silent

Alabama: A Journalist and Doctor Team Up to Save Lives StatewideSuccess: Perseverance to Reduce Radon Risks Moves City to Require Mitigation Systems in New Homes

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For Dr. Price, thepublic health aspectof the radon issuewas sadlytangible—andaddressing it was alocal imperative.

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Intruder: Should Radon be Considered in New BuildingCodes?, Radon Resistant Homes Make Good Sense, CouncilTables Radon Ordinance—Again!, and People May WinRadon Battle over City Politics.

One Decatur Daily reader whose attention Eric capturedwas Dr. Lane Price. One of Eric’s articles convinced herto enter the debate. She needed little coaxing. As Direc-tor of Oncology at the local hospital, she had seen first-hand the effects of lung cancer on her patients. And shewas fully aware that the U.S. Surgeon General citesindoor radon as the second leading cause of lung cancerin the United States. Dr. Price’s entry to the debatebegan with her publicly disputing the City Council’sreasoning and the arguments being made with regard tobuilding costs. For her, the public health aspect of theissue was sadly tangible—and addressing it was a localimperative. Dr. Price spoke about the health risk ofradon exposure, the need to protect Alabamans, andabout the thousands of people who die each year fromlung cancer. She explained that for her, and the people ofAlabama, the issue is about far more than costs andstatistics. “I’m looking at one patient whom I know,whom I love. And who dies,” Dr. Price said. She chal-lenged the city and the homebuilders to do everythingthey could to protect the public from radon exposure intheir homes.

Dr. Price later recounted that, “at one point, they toldpeople they needed more studies. Now y’all, there arestudies coming out your ears on radon. In this day andage information is easy to get. I called the City Councilpresident and she said, ‘No, it probably won’t passbecause nobody is interested in it.’ They were all op-posed to it.”

But in the end the City of Decatur did become inter-ested. Eric Fleischauer’s persistence and Dr. Price’spassion combined to convince the Decatur City Councilto listen. Eric’s articles focused public attention on theissue, making it impossible for the Council to continuetabling the discussion of RRNC requirements. Dr.Price’s persistence encouraged the Council and theMayor to reconsider their positions, and ultimately they

changed their minds. Mayor Lynn Fowler said, “I reallythink as we have gotten more information on this weunderstand the problem better. I think we don’t want tojeopardize anybody’s health. I support the radon installa-tion at this time.” About one month after Dr. Price’sappearance in front of the City Council, the Councilvoted unanimously to require passive radon reductionsystems in new one- and two-family homes.

In a Decatur Daily article published shortly after therequirement passed, Alice Rice of Alice Rice Builderssaid of the first passiveradon reduction systemshe installed in a newhome that “the additionalcost of the system in the$105,000 house is lessthan $200.” Within 4months of the appearanceof Eric’s first radon article,nearly 1,000 Decaturresidents tested theirhomes for radon. Theradon concentration inmore than 16 percent ofthose tests exceeded EPA’saction level.

The effects of Eric Fleischauer’s and Dr. Lane Price’sefforts did not end at the county line. Shortly after theDecatur City Council adopted the requirement, RRNCdominated the agenda at a statewide meeting of healthofficials and county extension agents. The meetingfocused on how to emulate Decatur’s results in othercities. Dr. Price spoke to the group and described herrole and that of the local media in moving publicopinion and changing city policy. “This is how it canwork in every city in Alabama,” said Harry Strawn, theState Extension System Radon Program Coordinator.Mr. Strawn said he is optimistic that Huntsville andMadison will adopt the radon reduction requirement,adding “They have been watching Decatur closely. Ithink they needed to see that it was doable.”

Michigan: Leveraging Resources in a Media CampaignSuccess: Outreach and Partnerships Turns Small Investment into Major Asset for Radon Awareness

Sue Hendershott—an Indoor Radon Specialist with theMichigan Department of Environmental Quality—knows that public awareness of radon risk is one of themost powerful tools available for reducing radon expo-

sure. In the early 1990s, the state had successfully usedpublic service announcements (PSAs) to publicizeinformation about the health risks from radon. Theoutreach efforts were halted, however, when state legisla-

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In total, the state’s$75,000 investmentled to $750,000worth of mediacoverage for radonissues.

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tors objected to the use oftobacco tax money to payfor broadcasting. Still, Suewas convinced that revitaliz-ing publicity on radon,preferably through televi-sion, was her best option. Sowhen the Michigan RadioNetwork (MRN) contactedthe Michigan RadonProgram to sell air time, Suemay not have been overlyenthusiastic, but she lis-

tened. And she became more interested when MRN toldher that television PSA time had to be booked as muchas 3 years in advance. Deciding that a radio spot nowwas better than no publicity for the next 2 to 3 years, shearranged for the Radon Program to purchase $15,000 ofair time from MRN to run radio PSAs for 2 weeks inJanuary. MRN produced a radio ad at no extra cost anddistributed it to 66 member stations (news/talk, sports/talk, country, oldies, etc.) that were slated to air it 52times. With a total of 3,432 messages scheduled over 2weeks, the radio campaign seemed promising.

Sue, however, was disappointed. Public inquiries aboutradon didn’t increase during the advertising campaign.Still, because she knew that public awareness was the keyto reducing radon risk, and that television has moreimpact on local awareness than any other broadcastmedium, Sue renewed her efforts to secure televisioncoverage of the radon issue in Michigan.

Sue contacted Denise Weston, director of the Non-Commercial Sustaining Announcements (NCSA)program, at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters(MAB). During their conversation, Denise was con-vinced that obtaining air time for such an important

health issue shouldn’t be so difficult. Then, the idea hither: Just as Sue recognized that informing and educatingher stakeholders was the key, Denise believed that if herstakeholders—in this case the broadcasters—knew moreabout radon’s health risk and had easy access to PSAmaterials, they would air them.

And so the two set out to educate and motivate localbroadcasters. Their results were impressive. Sue pur-chased $225,000 worth of television air time betweenJanuary and March 2004 with $75,000 from the Michi-gan Radon Program budget. Soon EPA’s Emmy Awardwinning “People on the Street” Radon PSA was airingaround the state.

Denise, by now a fully committed supporter of Sue’sgoal to increase public awareness of radon health risk,wanted to do more. She got a local recording companyto develop two radio PSAs at no cost to the MichiganRadon Program, marketed the PSAs to her network oftelevision and radio broadcasters, and secured an addi-tional $525,000 of donated air time to publicize radonhealth risk information and to encourage home testing.In all, the state’s $75,000 investment led to $750,000worth of media attention for radon issues. Although theadvertising contract was slated to continue only throughMarch, PSAs aired from late December on, and somestations continued to play the PSAs well into thesummer. The PSA was aired total of 11,145 times fromOctober 2003 through April 2004, more than twice thegoal of 5,002 ads.

This time, there was no question about the success of thecampaign. Thanks to the diligence and perseverance of astate radon specialist and a public broadcasting expert,the Michigan Radon Program received three times asmany calls as its previous monthly record after the initialairing of the PSAs.

Illinois: Inspectors Use State Law to Save LivesSuccess: City’s Inspection and Outeach Leads to Proper Mitigation System Installation and Influences Other Cities

The state Residential Building Code in Illinois requiresthe installation of passive radon mitigation systems innew homes. Even though high levels of radon are foundin Illinois, the code is not enforced statewide, allowingtowns, provinces, and cities to either adopt it or ignore it.So in 2000 when the city of Yorkville decided to adoptthe code and all of its appendices, Charles Riforgiate—the Head of the Yorkville Building and Safety Depart-ment—applauded the move. Charles had a hunch,

however. Even with required installation, he suspected thatonly about half of the radon mitigation systems would beinstalled correctly.

Not willing to let Yorkville’s good intentions fail in theimplementation process, Charles decided to make radonsystem inspections a priority. Now all new homes—approximately 800 homes each year—must pass inspectionfor a properly installed radon reduction system.

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Charles did not stop there. In April 2004, he launched aradon awareness campaign aimed at area builders anddevelopers. Charles was determined to reduce thenumber of Yorkville houses with radon problems byeducating the building community about the serioushealth effects of radon exposure and by providinginformation on how to install passive radon reductionsystems in all homebuilding projects. He began histraining with his code inspectors, to help them identifyincorrectly installed systems. Next, recognizing that mostbuilders were simply unaware of a proper installationprocess, he concentrated on educating builders anddevelopers. Since the push began to train city inspectors

and educate builders and developers, Charles estimatesthat 95 percent of the systems his staff inspects are nowinstalled correctly. The 5 percent that fail must pass afollow-up inspection before being certified for occu-pancy.

Yorkville’s success in adopting and enforcing the Resi-dential Building Code has prompted nearby areas tofollow suit. With Charles’s help, the Safety Departmentsof all towns within a 30-mile radius of Yorkville haveadopted the Residential Building Code, and that radiuscontinues to expand.

Minnesota: Radon Rules “Sweeps Week” in MinneapolisSuccess: Local Media and State Program Partnership Increases Awareness by the Thousands

In early 2004, the Minnesota Department of Health(MDH) was receiving somewhere between 70 and 100phone calls per month about radon. When the local CBSaffiliate in Minneapolis called looking for a public healthstory as sweeps week 2004 approached, everything wasabout to change. The Supervisor of the Department’sIndoor Air Unit, Dale Dorschner, suggested thatWCCO run a story on radon. Dale called on JoshuaKerber, who coordinates the MDH’s radon program,and his staff to introduce the station’s news producer tothe public health hazards of radon in Minnesota. Theprogram staff ’s presentations on radon-related healthrisks, average radon levels across Minnesota, the avail-ability of radon mitigation services, and RRNC tech-niques were convincing. The news producer recom-mended that the station develop not one, but severalsegments on radon. The station wholeheartedly obliged.

During sweeps week, WCCO developed and arranged toair its first segment on radon’s health effects and hometesting options. Optimistic that the topic would piquethe interest of its audience, WCCO coordinated withMDH to set up a phone bank at the television station tofield calls from viewers about how to test and where toget free or discounted radon test kits. Describing radonas a serious threat, WCCO warned viewers that “it killsmore people than drunk driving, fires, and drowning.”Within 2 hours of the story’s airing, the phone bankreceived more than 600 calls and distributed a free testkit to each caller.

To handle the sustained heightened interest, MDHlaunched its own hotline and fielded over 1,000 calls.The week following the story, the Department received

more than 4,600 emails. Radon mitigators reported theirappointment books were full after the first WCCO story,with some booked solid for ayear. At the end of sweepsweek, WCCO learned thattheir radon segment had putthem in first place forviewers. Approximately352,500 viewers watched thestory, the largest single ratingin the period and the largestresponse in station history.WCCO had no doubts thatradon was a topic theywanted to pursue in greaterdepth.

WCCO’s second episode onradon aired in December.This installment addressedradon concerns in new andold homes, revealing that many area builders wereskeptical about radon as a threat in new homes. Thestory revealed that some builders mistakenly believedthat radon exposure poses no serious health threat andthat its source in older homes was aging appliances.WCCO also interviewed a local builder whose story hada different twist. Despite no legal obligation, he hadalready installed a system to prevent exposure to highlevels of radon. Although radon mitigation can cost from$800 to $2,500 on an existing house, the system heinstalled during construction cost $300, a cost he feltcomfortable absorbing.

Attention to radonby the local CBSaffiliate increasedhits to theMinnesotaDepartment ofHealth’s Web site10-fold in 3 months.

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In February 2005, WCCO’s third story about radonpublicized their newly formed partnership with anational radon lab. While the first radon stories weregetting airplay, the station was working another anglethat left no doubt about their commitment to the issue.They convinced the lab to provide discounted radon testkits to all WCCO viewers. After that story was broad-cast, more than 15,000 test kits were sold. WCCO’s I-TEAM tracked the test results and found that high levelsof radon occurred in every county where viewers tested.In fact, forty percent of the tests revealed levels of radonabove EPA’s action level. The highest level of radonreported was 240 pCi/L—60 times the action level!WCCO’s collaboration with MDH led to the firstcomprehensive database compiled on radon levels inMinnesota since 1988. WCCO’s attention to the radonstory caused hits on MDH’s Radon Web site to sky-rocket from roughly 2,000 per month to 14,000 inDecember 2004; 7,173 in January 2005; and 23,231 inFebruary 2005.

Although the debate continues over whether to includeRRNC guidance in the building code, Dale has nodoubt that the local media’s attention to radon has hadan undeniable impact on the state’s radon program. Thereal estate and building industries’ demand for MDH toprovide continuing education courses on radon mitiga-tion and RRNC has grown, and inquiries through theRadon Web site and hotlines remain high. Dale says thepartnership with the media transformed the MinnesotaRadon program. “Media attention made our programgrow 20-fold, and the hard work and commitment ofour staff has allowed MDH to respond effectively toincreased public awareness of radon and interest inreducing its harmful effects.”

Surgeon General HealthAdvisory“Indoor radon is the second-leading

cause of lung cancer in the United

States and breathing it over prolonged

periods can present a significant

health risk to families all over the

country. It’s important to know that

this threat is completely preventable.

Radon can be detected with a simple

test and fixed through well-

established venting techniques.”

—January 2005

Page 12: Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks - US EPA · Local Efforts to Reduce Radon Risks ... although it is important to ... radon risk areas. Radon education is now an essential