CR3 News Magazine 2018 VOL 4: SEPTEMBER Environmental Justice | Page 29

JULY 30TH, 2018 by Sarah Goodwin

We’re over halfway through this 10-part blog series. You may also be interested in reading about EPA Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4, Region 5, and Region 6.

Throughout 2018, we’re posting highlights of our state fact sheets by EPA region, one region per month. In July, we’re looking at EPA Region 7, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Noted facts from these states include:

Radon is a large presence in this region:

Iowa leads the nation with 71.6% of homes above the EPA action level; the average indoor radon concentration in this state is more than six times the national average.

60%, 40%, and 30% of homes in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri (respectively) have tested with radon levels above the EPA action level.

All states within Region 6 have more than half of the housing stock built before 1978. The percentages range from 56% (Missouri) to 68% (Iowa).

In 2015, 3,309 children in Missouri and 344 children in Nebraska tested with an elevated blood lead level (5 µg/dL or more). In 2011, 30,863 children in Iowa and 1,834 children in Kansas tested above the same level.*

An average of 33 people die from carbon monoxide exposure every year in Missouri. This number is 12 in Kansas and 6 in Nebraska.

In Nebraska, there are four deaths, 70 hospitalizations, and 233 emergency department visits due to unintentional falls among adults over 65 per week. Between the other three states, there were 1,534 deaths from falls among this age group in 2015.

Asthma prevalence rates (current) in this region range from 7-10% of children and 8-11% of adults.

Asthma was responsible for over 30,000 emergency department visits in Missouri in 2014, totaling over $114 million in hospital charges.

Other NCHH Resources

The Health Impact Project’s 10 Policies to Prevent and Respond to Childhood Lead Exposure report features a case study into lead poisoning prevention from Omaha, Nebraska. One of the Lead Poisoning Awareness Community Mini-Grants, facilitated by NCHH in conjunction with the report, was awarded to St. Louis County Department of Health.

In 2017, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NCHH awarded a Healthy Homes Workforce Development Mini-Grant to Linn County Public Health in Iowa.

A 2016 case study series on Healthcare Financing of Healthy Homes Services included a look at Medicaid Reimbursement for Home-Based Asthma Services in Missouri.

Use this list of building code resources to identify building codes in your state and locality.

NCHH’s state fact sheets will be updated annually with current information. For questions or comments, please email Laura Fudala at [email protected].

*No data more recent than 2011 is available for Iowa and Kansas, and none beyond 2015 is available for Missouri or Nebraska.

Sarah Goodwin joined NCHH as a Policy Analyst in June 2017. She previously served NCHH as a policy intern, helping to establish and run the Find It, Fix It, Fund It lead action drive and its workgroups. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from American University.

Introducing NCHH’s State Healthy Housing Fact Sheets EPA Region 7

"All exposure is bad, but your health risks go up and up as they’re prolonged," she said.

Cacciato said if people have a living area in their basement, such as an office, bedroom or children's playroom, they should test their home.

Radon tests kits are available for free to Licking County residents from the Licking County Health Department through a federal matching grant, said Olivia Biggs,

a department spokeswoman.

The grant, through the Ohio Department of Health, also serves residents in Morrow, Knox, Delaware, Fairfield, Perry, Muskingum, Coshocton, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Guernsey, Stark, Carroll, Harrison, Belmont, Jefferson, and Columbiana counties.

Homeowners can fill out an online application for the test kit by visiting the radon section of the health department's website and the kit arrives in the mail, Biggs said.

"The radon test kit is easy to use," she said. "They have written instructions so that it’s easy to understand so that the homeowner feels confident using it."

The homeowner then sends the kit to the state health department for testing.

Biggs said people should test their home every three to five years.

Cacciato said just because a home has low radon levels, it doesn't mean the levels will always remain low. Once the level is high, it will not decrease without a mitigation system.

Homeowners can get one free kit from the health department every year, Biggs said.

If a home does show high radon levels, Biggs said the health department lets the homeowners know where they can find a qualified radon service professional to install a mitigation system to make their home safe.

January is Radon Action Month and Cacciato is trying to create awareness about the preventable cancer by telling her story.

"I don’t want this to happen to anybody else," she said. "If we can help one family or one person understand the risks that are taking place that would be great."

[email protected]

740-328-8513

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

CR3 NEW MEMBER

Annie Cacciato

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