To spread the message about radon, WGAL TV – a local Lancaster and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania news channel – and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), Bureau of Radiation Protection, Radon Division organized a phone bank of radon experts to answer viewer call-in questions during a live on-air broadcast.

The day prior to the phone bank, Susan Shapiro, a reporter for WGAL, did a broadcast news story related to radon. She interviewed a Lancaster family with high radon levels who subsequently mitigated the home, and she also interviewed a representative of the PA DEP Radon Division who provided general information of radon in general and some specifics of local occurrences. The purpose of these broadcasts was to showcase real life stories to impact the viewing audience enough for them to take action.

January is National Radon Action Month (NRAM) – and now is the time to participate. Join members of the radon community from across the country in activities to raise awareness about the health effects of radon exposure. By conducting your outreach activities to promote radon testing, mitigation and radon-resistant new construction, you are joining the Radon Leaders Saving Lives Campaign to increase the number of lives saved from radon-induced lung cancer.

Participate this year by:

• Submitting your activity on RadonLeaders.org. Fill out the easy, step-by-step activity submittal form online to add your NRAM activities.

Each year, the Nevada Radon Education Program tries new radon outreach ideas for National Radon Action Month. Its most successful idea this year was the creation and use of a 40-foot street banner in two different locations during January. The banner was hung over a major highway thoroughfare in Gardnerville (Douglas County) during the first two weeks of January and on the main street in Nevada’s capital – Carson City – during the last week of January.

The street banner, which cost the Program an initial expense of $750, will surely pay off as the Program hopes to use the banner for years to come. The 3-foot by 40-foot vinyl banner was created with specifications determined by the two cities' governing entities.

To educate builders and raise public awareness about radon-resistant new construction (RRNC), the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Radiation Control (DRC) teamed up with the Habitat for Humanity of Utah County (Habitat) during National Radon Action Month (NRAM). DRC partnered with Habitat – a nonprofit, housing organization that provides affordable housing for people in need – to promote healthier homes.

“Consumers are becoming more aware that radon is a health risk, and building a new home with radon-resistant features can help to reduce elevated levels,” Radon Program Coordinator Christine Keyser said. “In addition, installing radon-resistant features at the time of construction is easier and cheaper than fixing a radon problem later. According to DRC’s radon measurement data, one in every three homes in Utah will have elevated levels of radon.“

January is fast approaching and we want to showcase your National Radon Action Month (NRAM) events and activities. Let everyone know by submitting brief descriptions of your 2012 National Radon Action Month (NRAM) events and activities to RadonLeaders.org. Submittals are quick and easy with your choice of the online form or the batch upload feature. All NRAM and related events and activities held during October 2011 through the end of February 2012 are welcome.

Posting your NRAM outreach on RadonLeaders.org allows radon colleagues and the public to see our collective effort. This makes it easier to learn from each others' successes and connect around specific activities and events.

Many NRAM tools and streams of information are available to assist you at RadonLeaders.org. There you can:

CRCPD is reviving its mini-grant project, offering funds to local partners designated by the state radon program to receive from $500 to $5,000 dollars to conduct a radon project. The application process includes a brief proposal and short application form, which are due on October 7, 2011. The announcement and application package with all the details was emailed to State Radon Program Contacts on August 16, 2011. A completed report on the project outcome and expenditures is a requirement at the project's completion. Checks are awarded directly to the partner applicant.

October 16 - 19, 2011
Hilton in Walt Disney World
Orlando, Florida

The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD) is sponsoring this conference and training with financial assistance from: Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

We invite you to join us in Orlando, Florida, and look forward to seeing you there. All of the information in this announcement and invitation, along with additional items or changes when
they become available, will be available on CRCPD's website. Check the website for all updates.

This year, Western Kentucky University (WKU) Department of Environment, Health and Safety reached new heights in raising awareness during National Radon Action Month – by garnering media attention to spread the word about the risk of radon. The department’s Radon Grant Coordinator Anita Britt partnered with the Barren River District Health Department, a local radon mitigation professional and the Bowling Green Daily News newspaper to run a personal story about radon, titled “Radon a Silent Danger.” The article – written by Pam Cassady and published on Jan. 17, 2011 – described a personal story of Lisa Murrell, a local nonsmoker who was diagnosed with lung cancer (pictured above).

To educate builders and raise public awareness about radon-resistant new construction (RRNC), the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Radiation Control (DRC) teamed up with the Habitat for Humanity of Utah County (Habitat) during National Radon Action Month (NRAM). DRC partnered with Habitat – a nonprofit, housing organization that provides affordable housing for people in need – to promote healthier homes.

“Consumers are becoming more aware that radon is a health risk, and building a new home with radon-resistant features can help to reduce elevated levels,” Radon Program Coordinator Christine Keyser said. “In addition, installing radon-resistant features at the time of construction is easier and cheaper than fixing a radon problem later. According to DRC’s radon measurement data, one in every three homes in Utah will have elevated levels of radon.“

Each year, the Nevada Radon Education Program tries new radon outreach ideas for National Radon Action Month. Its most successful idea this year was the creation and use of a 40-foot street banner in two different locations during January. The banner was hung over a major highway thoroughfare in Gardnerville (Douglas County) during the first two weeks of January and on the main street in Nevada’s capital – Carson City – during the last week of January.

The street banner, which cost the Program an initial expense of $750, will surely pay off as the Program hopes to use the banner for years to come. The 3-foot by 40-foot vinyl banner was created with specifications determined by the two cities' governing entities.