20th National Radon Training Conference

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 Columbus, Ohio, and look forward to seeing you there. Please find below by clicking on the link a tentative agenda and other important information about this conference.

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.

www.crcpd.org

Involving the Community in Innovative Outreach

This January, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Radon Education Program sought new and innovative ideas for getting the radon message out to the public. Among several new efforts was using volunteers to help during NRAM and an idea suggested by our area director -- to hang door tags on houses in high radon potential areas.

The door tag idea seemed plausible and the area director was willing to do some of the legwork, so I developed two-sided, four-color door tags and had them printed in time to be distributed in Reno neighborhoods during National Radon Action Month.

Read the full story

More information

We are eager to hear about the successful outreach conducted through the Radon Tee: World Trek 2010! To share your Radon Tee: World Trek 2010 story and inspire others, visit www.radonleaders.org/radontee/share and tell us about your experience. The stories we receive may be featured here in the RadonLeaders.org InFocus.

The following narrative tells the story of classmates Cristine Solomon and Diane Dougherty, nursing students in Aurora, Colorado, who were inspired to educate the public about the potential health risk presented by radon exposure.

The Post and Courier
Friday, December 5, 2008

Ten experts presented their lives' work to the President's Cancer Panel on Thursday in Charleston, the third of four such public meetings held across the country.

Environmental factors in cancer was this year's panel topic. Presenters strode broadly among pollutants found in the ground, air, water and products we use daily.

Panelists, who listened to the presenters and asked questions, are appointed by and report to the president. Several presenters spoke on radon, a cancer-causing radioactive gas that has largely slipped out of the public's awareness.

Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs naturally in the earth and can be trapped in structures. When people breathe radon, the radioactive gas decays in their lungs, shedding particles that can trigger cancer.

One Woman’s Story, One Woman’s Impact

In Greater Cincinnati, we have a radon awareness advocate that has made more impact in one month than we have over many years. The message is simple: “Test, Fix, Save a Life.” Her name is Debra Rebensdorf and she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in October of 2009. Late last year, she contacted At Home Radon for a radon mitigation system. She has deeply touched all of us and made us once again realize how important our work is.

Debra and her husband, Lou, live in a beautiful home in the country. They moved away from the city about 11 years ago, to have more space and “breathe in country air.” Debra was unaware of radon and the potential for lung cancer. No one in her family has ever had lung cancer and she is a healthy active woman with a husband, career, friends, horses and lots of 4-legged creatures!

ORIGINAL POST

Reitz advances proposal to increase radon awareness

RANDOLPH COUNTY, IL -
Last week, state Rep. Dan Reitz (D-Steeleville) passed legislation through the House Environmental Health Committee to raise awareness of radon and increase reporting of radon between landlords and tenants.

House Bill 5224 would require a landlord to disclose to each tenant any information about any prior radon testing or mitigation. Furthermore, if a tenant chooses to have their unit tested for radon and hazardous levels are found to be present, they must inform the landlord within ten days of the results. The landlord would then be required to have mitigation performed on the unit or allow the tenant to terminate the lease.

ORIGINAL POST

Bill Field University researcher dedicates his life to improving public health.
Twenty-five years ago, doctors told Bill Field that he might never work again.

As a health physicist at the University of California, Berkley, he was exposed to dangerous fumes after an accident involving improperly disposed chemicals. Field was working to evacuate the affected area of campus when he was exposed, and was left with severe eye and nerve damage. He spent several years recovering while on social security disability benefits.

ORIGINAL POST

Gail Dobbs has never smoked. But last spring her doctor diagnosed her with lung cancer. With help from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, the Walton County resident tested her home for radon and found her cancer may be caused by the air in her home.

"Most people don't think about radon, yet radon can have a major impact on you and your family's health," said Pamela Turner, a UGA Extension housing specialist. "Radon can seep into homes and contaminate the air inside."

More than 21,000 people die each year from lung cancer caused by radon. Georgia has the highest rate in the Southeast with 822 deaths last year alone.

Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas that comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock or water. It is invisible, odorless and tasteless. Regions with a lot of granite have a higher risk for radon.

HB 5224 was voted out of the Environmental Health Committee February 25, 2010 by a vote of 013-000-000.

The bill is now scheduled for second reading and short debate in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Details of the bill can be seen by entering hb5224 in the bill search box at http://www.ilga.gov/.

ORIGINAL POST