Radon Exposure Legislation

An Office of the Inspector General report in 2008 revealed that exposure to indoor radon continues to grow despite the passage of the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act. Until now, compliance with most radon standards has been voluntary.  A group of experts has recently testified before the President’s Cancer Panel to require the enforcement of improved radon standards.  These include:  radon mitigation in existing homes, the adoption of radon resistant new construction, and testing during real-estate transactions.  

Resistance to these new standards is mostly from those who stand to lose money.  Some contractors having to buy new, more expensive (avg. of $500) building materials and some realtors concerned about not sealing the deal, or delaying a deal are reluctant to include these life-saving measures.  Over 1 million people have died from radon exposure in the last 50 years.  Considering this, it seems that legislation around radon exposure and compliance with this is a small price to pay.  In the meantime, http://www.homeaire.com are an extremely effective way of determining whether your own home may be at risk for radon.