A coalition of scientists is reporting that efforts to reduce radon levels in homes throughout the U.S. are largely failing. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Celeste Headlee has more:
Transcript
A coalition of scientists is reporting that efforts to reduce radon levels in homes throughout the
U.S. are largely failing. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Celeste Headlee has more:
Radon is a natural gas that emits low levels of radiation. Research has proven it can cause lung
cancer. Officials estimate 15 thousand lung cancer deaths can be traced back to radon each year
in the U.S. Congress passed the Indoor Radon Abatement Act in 1988, setting a national goal to
reduce radon in American homes to safe levels.
Peter Hendrick is the Executive Director of the American Association of Radon Scientists and
Technologists. He says the country’s radon program is ineffective, with dangerous levels of the
gas still present in ten million homes in the U.S.
“I believe that the reason behind that is because one particular agency, Housing and Urban
Development, has really not lived up to its responsibilities under the National Environmental
Protection Act to comply with EPA standards on radon.”
Hendrick is calling for the government to enforce existing laws and even create tax incentives for
compliance. Federal officials have not yet commented on Hendrick’s complaints.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Celeste Headlee.