NRAP | 2021 – 25 ’ s Four Goal Areas for Saving Lives From Radon
After 5 years in partnership , the NRAP Leadership Council continues to collaborate , sharing ideas about how best to move critical , life-saving radon action forward . This multisector group shares the work — each member organization leading in its area of knowledge , responsibility and capacity — to advance four related priorities that they all share for saving lives from radon .
Build In Risk Reduction
Rules , codes and standards that govern how buildings are financed , developed , constructed and maintained provide opportunities to require and invest in radon testing and repairs . Wherever possible , the NRAP calls for embedding radon testing , remediation and construction provisions into these requirements to integrate radon risk reduction as a standard practice in ongoing work .
In NRAP | 2021 – 25 , Goal Area 1 seeks to include radon requirements within real estate , including rental and mortgage transactions for all types of buildings . The goal is to maximize risk reduction for all buildings by testing , sharing information about and reducing radon risks through repairs when building transactions occur between homeowners or between landlords and renters , or when repairs and rehabilitations and construction projects are financed . The Plan remains focused on the enormous life-saving potential of protective building codes to require radon controls in new buildings and of testing and repairs of existing buildings as needed , particularly for schools and rental properties .
Support Radon Risk Reduction
People who have control of their built environments and can afford to test for and reduce high radon levels can be encouraged to address the risk through education and incentives . For them , the NRAP aims to spur radon action by making it obvious and easy . For others , however , educational messages alone are not sufficient to initiate action . Many people do not have the authority to test and repair the rental housing , workplaces and schools that they occupy , and even for those who do , the cost burden of repairs may be too great . Funding support from legislative and health care budgets , along with grants and charity , will be needed to cover the cost of radon testing and repairs in all buildings to eliminate preventable lung cancer from indoor radon .
In NRAP | 2021 – 25 , Goal Area 2 focuses on the critical need for increasing access to government-backed and other sources of housing financing , identifying new funding sources and help for states and tribes to fund radon controls in all buildings — especially in lowincome communities and communities of color — and directing cancer prevention resources toward radon risk reduction . The Plan focuses on outcomes that can be connected to preventable cancers from radon . These outcomes include working with state cancer control programs to expand radon policies ; new financing and funding flowing to more testing and repairs of high radon in low-income properties ; and rising priority for radon action in federal , state and philanthropic health promotion investments .
Build Capacity to Test and Mitigate Using Professional Radon Services
Consensus standards and guidance now exist to govern radon testing , mitigation , laboratory quality assurance and new construction methods in all buildings — all home types , schools and large buildings , and occupational settings . Radon work requires rigorous training and standards-based credentialing in accordance with the American National Standards Institute to ensure that service providers are equipped to assess radon levels , make decisions about mitigation , and , when necessary , install mitigation systems that save lives from lung cancer by reliably preventing radon from entering buildings .
In NRAP | 2021 – 25 , Goal Area 3 builds on NRAP success by seeking to spread recognition of the standards nationwide and facilitate identification of a qualified workforce by aligning current credentialing approaches to one quality standard . The Plan prioritizes improved data collection and analysis , envisioning a landscape in which radon work can be counted on to save lives because it is conducted by credentialed professionals following national standards , and where annual radon risk reduction can be reliably estimated using a robust , nationally representative dataset .
The National Radon Action Plan | 2021 – 2025 5