Now that National Radon Action Month (NRAM) has come to a close, we are very eager to hear about your outreach and experiences in greater detail. We want you to Share Your Story from NRAM 2010, and sharing your story couldn’t be easier! Just visit www.radonleaders.org/nram/share and tell us about your experience. The stories we receive will be featured right here in the RadonLeaders.org InFocus. Stories may also appear on EPA's National Radon Action Month website and in outreach materials along with other success stories.

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

Gail Dobbs was diagnosed with lung cancer last year.

She didn’t smoke, and she didn’t have a family history of lung cancer.

What she had was prolonged exposure to high levels of the radioactive gas radon. It’s likely that thousands of other Georgians are being exposed, too.

“When you first get the diagnosis, it’s shocking,” said Dobbs, who is 59 and has lived in her Monroe home for 30 years. “You think ... where could it possibly come from?”

Radon is an invisible and odorless gas that breaks down from uranium, granite, shale and phosphate and seeps into soil and water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it’s the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and causes up to 14 percent of all lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. That’s about 22,000 people. Georgia leads the Southeast, according to the EPA, with an average of 822 deaths yearly.

A T-Shirt travelling the globe to spread the message Reduce Radon & Save Lives has been photographed outside London’s Houses of Parliament with specialist contractors, ProTen Services.

Bath, United Kingdom, February 24, 2010 -- Martin Freeman, Managing Director of ProTen Services, posed with the Radon Tee outside the House of Lords, the House of Commons and Big Ben this week.

Ministers at the Houses of Parliament are responsible for passing legislation in the UK, including the Building Regulations, which stipulate whether new buildings and extensions or conversions must be protected from radon.

Currently, only properties located in certain areas of the country are required under Building Regulations to incorporate radon protective measures into the build.

The Oregon House passed a bill Monday that requires all new buildings in the state be Radon resistant.

Radon is a natural, radioactive gas that seeps up from the ground. In small amounts, it's not considered dangerous. But one of every 15 homes in Oregon has elevated levels where the gas collects in basements and lower rooms. Phil Donovan is with the American Lung Association of Oregon.
Phil Donovan: "Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in Oregon. And it can be easily prevented in homes. And so the state of Oregon is going to make sure that new residential homes and new public buildings are radon resistant. And they're going to provide information to home buyers so they're aware of the dangers of radon in buying an existing home."

The bill has already passed the senate. Governor Kulongoski has not said if he'll sign it, but state agencies are supportive.

Families can test their homes with a $15 send-away kit.

Legislation that will help reduce the risk of radon exposure for home buyers passed the Oregon Senate on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 1025 moved to the House on a 24-6 vote. It requires both radon-resistant construction standards for new homes and public buildings in areas with higher radon levels and notification for all home buyers about the health risks associated with radon.

MILWAUKEE -- Radon gas is a deadly hazard found in thousands of homes across the area.

You may have heard about the risks and warnings of radon, but chances are, you've never seen the impact that radon can have and the danger it can pose to your family.

"The doctor came and put his hand on my shoulder and said, I have cancer," cancer patient Liz Hoffman said.

It was lung cancer, and for Hoffman, the first question was, "Why?"

"I've never smoked. (I was) not around second-hand smoke. (There's no) no reason for me to have lung cancer except for living in our home breathing radon," Hoffman said.

Hoffman had lived in her Milwaukee home for 15 years, and knew nothing about radon or how dangerous it could be.

"I asked my doctor if there is anything in my life that could have caused this and he said, no, nothing except for the elevated levels of radon in our home," Hoffman said.