Dear Mr. Vice President:

Radon is a radioactive gas and is the leading environmental cause of cancer death causing an estimated 22,000 lung cancer deaths annually. The number of annual radon induced lung cancer deaths can be reduced by conducting a simple and inexpensive test and then taking action to reduce elevated radon levels when found. We know how to prevent radon induced radon cancer. Test and Fix.

Initial EPA studies in the 1980’s estimated that 1 in 15 houses had elevated radon levels. Recent analysis of over two million test results indicate the number of houses at risk of having elevated radon levels may be closer to 1 in 5. The bottom line is that many Americans are unknowingly being exposed to this silent killer.

I would like to suggest an action that if implemented will have a monumental impact on the number of homes tested for radon and will reduce the number of people at risk of developing radon induced lung cancer as they take action to reduce elevated radon levels. The suggested approach, an awareness program, is not an un-funded government mandate to test or fix a home.

In 2007, Illinois passed the Radon Awareness Act which took effect January 1, 2008. (420 ILCS 46/1) Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Illinois Radon Awareness Act. Source: P.A. 95–210, eff. 1–1–08.) The act requires the seller of a house to provide the buyer with a document which advises the buyer that the house may have elevated radon levels, that the buyer is entitled to test the house for radon, and that the Illinois Emergency Management Agency strongly recommends that the house be tested.

An awareness requirement, a relatively minor mandate, is an effective process during a real estate transaction because it stimulates buyer attention and action in so many cases. The seller, buyer, and agents sign off on the document that the exchange of information occurred, thereby creating informed consent between all parties involved in the transaction.

The net effect of the law in Illinois is that the percentage of all houses sold that have been tested for elevated radon has increased from 15% to 55%. As action is taken to reduce elevated radon levels where they are found, lives are undoubtedly being saved from radon induced lung cancer. A similar Minnesota law that took effect two years ago this month increased the number of mitigations by more than 300%. All the result of home buyer awareness programs.

These same awareness programs can readily be duplicated at the national level. If mortgages insured by HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and underwritten by the Government Sponsored Enterprises that are under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency were to implement a similar awareness policy, it would save lives and live up to the goals of the both the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act and the 1939 Housing Act to produce safe housing for all Americans. Awareness policies are included as a key strategy in the recently released National Radon Action Plan, which was developed by eight NGOs with EPA, HUD and DHHS. Implementation of such a plan would also assist in meeting the White House Moonshot Cancer Task Force goal “to accelerate our understanding of cancer, and its prevention, early detection, treatment, and cure.”

Most respectfully,

Calvin Murphy
President
AARST Foundation
18245 E IL Highway 15
Mt Vernon, IL 62864
info@aarstfoundation.org
618–204–5545