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Radon At Tahoe

Radon At Tahoe. by Jeff Miner For the Tahoe Area Sierra Club February 18, 2010. Radon at Lake Tahoe. The Problem The Solution Why We Ignore Radon Action We Could Take An Overview. Radon At Tahoe.

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Radon At Tahoe

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  1. Radon At Tahoe by Jeff Miner For the Tahoe Area Sierra Club February 18, 2010

  2. Radon at Lake Tahoe • The Problem • The Solution • Why We Ignore Radon • Action We Could Take An Overview

  3. Radon At Tahoe For 24 years I had high levels of radon gas in my house, and I did not know it. When I tested my house and understood the problem, I was able to fix it myself. This web page is dedicated to people like myself who want to know if they have a radon problem and want to get it fixed.

  4. Do It Yourself Manual

  5. Continuous Electronic Radon Tester

  6. Radon Movement

  7. EPACaliforniaRadonMap

  8. EPANevada Radon Map

  9. Radon does not stop at borders

  10. Four Studies • 1989 - California Radon Survey • 1991 - Nevada Radon Survey • 2007 - Tahoe Radon Survey • 2009 - CGS Tahoe Radon Potential But very little action

  11. California DHS statewide radon study 1988-89 • “The Sierra Nevada region was significantly higher than other areas….” • Estimated that 11-45% of homes are above the U.S. EPA action level. • Only 1% of homes in California have elevated radon, low radon state. • Sierra Nevada are a low populated region • Conclusion: We are not a priority, so no action taken for last 20 years.

  12. Nevada1991 Radon Survey • 10% of Nevada homes have elevated radon • But Zephyr Cove: 69%* of homes have elevated radon • No action taken to alert Zephyr Cove residents. • Nevada Radon program recently taken over by University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension • * The highest in the state!

  13. 2007 - Tahoe Radon Survey • California Dept. of Public Health sent 7,700 letters to Tahoe Area residents in : • El Dorado County • Placer County • Nevada County • Over 1,400 tests were received back • Results showed that over 35% of homes in the Sierra Nevada and 39% of homes in South Lake Tahoe have elevated radon.

  14. Current Radon Tests ResultsAfter 2007 Tahoe Radon Survey

  15. 2007 - Tahoe Radon Survey

  16. 2009 California Geological SurveyTahoe Radon Potential

  17. 2009 California Geological SurveyTahoe Radon Potential

  18. Let’s Review:Is Radon a Problem at Tahoe? • Radon causes lung cancer. 2nd only to cigarette smoke. 21,000 deaths a year from radon. • Granite is high in Uranium, Radium, Radon • Tahoe has plenty of granite. Sierra batholith. • 90% of South Tahoe homes are in high radon geology areas. Actual tests so far 39% test high. • So, why are we not doing more about it? • Answer: Politics and Psychology.

  19. Radon Ordinance Appendix F of IRCRadon Resistant New Construction

  20. El Dorado County Part 12007 Radon Awareness Program • OBJECTIVES: • Develop awareness of radon and its possible health hazards • Distribute pamphlets at local grocery stores and post offices • Public presentations at Board of Realtors, service groups, special events, etc. • Board/City Resolutions to support January as National Radon Action Month • Radon awareness insert with utility bills • Encourage community members to seek additional information about radon. • Public service announcements on local radio stations/newspaper articles • Inform community members as to various methods/sources for home radon testing. • Display test kits at local lumber and hardware stores

  21. El Dorado County Part 22007 Radon Awareness Program • Encourage community members to test homes for radon. • Provide coupons for free test kits (if available from State) • Promote State program for $5 test kits • Work with Middle School/High School Science teachers to do radon project with their students—test their homes and track results • Inform community members on Radon Reduction Methods • Send letters to survey participants with radon results at or above action level • Provide copies of “How to Fix Your Home” • Consider providing workshop for homeowners • Expand list of State Certified Radon Mitigators

  22. El Dorado County Part 32007 Radon Awareness Program • Encourage builders to include “Radon Resistant New Construction” (RRNC) in the construction of new homes. • Workshop for contractors, architects, engineers on methods of RRNC • Recommend to Development Services the adoption of a RRNC code for Tahoe area (similar to Appendix F of the International Residential Code) • Consider sending a Building Inspector and an Environmental Health Specialist to NEHA Radon certification class. • Provide copies of “Building Radon Out” at City and County Building Departments and TRPA • Encourage radon reduction as part of Green Building

  23. El Dorado County Part 42007 Radon Awareness Program • MEASUREMENTS OF SUCCESS: • Track the number of tests submitted for testing and their results • Track the number of homes built with RRNC • TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION: • December 2007: • Web site improvements, letters out to survey participants with results at or above action level, school district radon survey results • January 2008: • Radon Awareness Month, resolutions, coupons/ free radon tests kits, public outreach, student projects at schools • February 2008: • Workshops for homeowners/contractors

  24. Real Estate Transactions Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement Required for All Real Estate Sales in California Radon Hazards in El Dorado County are listed as Moderate

  25. LEED Green Building United States Green Building Council’s LEED Certification Program Does NOT require RRNC (Radon Resistant New Construction) on LEED Certified Green Buildings in El Dorado, Placer or Nevada Counties (moderate radon counties)

  26. What Could The County Do? Test county buildings at Tahoe Train contractors and builders in RRNC Move forward to complete the items on the Radon Awareness Program list Develop a program to work and collaborate with local citizens, myself included Expand the EMD web site to include local statistics and maps

  27. What Could the County Do? Support efforts to get the LEED green building certification program to recognize Tahoe as a High, not Moderate radon potential area Support efforts to get the Real Estate Hazard Disclosure Report to use current radon maps, not the old EPA Radon Map which still shows Tahoe as a Moderate radon risk area The above item would really increase the awareness of the actual radon potential of this area, as reported in the CGS Radon Potential Report, since every real estate transaction in California is required to have the hazard report and currently it is misleading.

  28. What Action To Take? Moral: Don’t wait for government to act Test your own home Reasons people test. Reasons people don’t test. Time for Questions.

  29. Newborn Radon Program

  30. Radon Tee World Trek

  31. Building Radon Out

  32. Radon Ready New Construction – RRNC On Slab Foundation

  33. Crawl Space Foundation Mitigation

  34. Slab FoundationMitigation

  35. Pipe Runs under barrier cloth and out through air vent

  36. Fan and vent pipe on outside

  37. Electricity110 volt or 12 volt

  38. Certified Radon Mitigators in California

  39. Certified Radon Mitigators in California

  40. California Certified Radon Testers

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