The following PA AARST Chapter Project, sponsored by the PA DOH Cancer Coalition and PA DEP and funded by the CDC, is scheduled to start around August 2018 in the Homewood and Wilkinsburg communities in the Pittsburgh area.
The Problem
Axiom of the reality of radon risk: if there is a home or building with elevated radon and it is not mitigated, then lives are not being saved relative to radon induced lung cancer. These are lives that could be saved.
Realization
The dilemma and solution rests on our shoulders, not those of the government, the EPA or the states. Radon risk communication without assured mitigation does not save lives in low-income communities, and the reason seems to be no funding.
“One kind deed is more beautiful than a thousand good intentions.” ~ Matshona Dhliwayo
There is a question of empowerment response to radon risk in homes in low-income/minority communities with no built-in assured funding to address homes in these communities that have elevated radon levels: does lack of action contradict the definition of EJ (environmental justice) concerns per EPA EJ national policy?
The Answer/Solution
The answer is all of us giving back to our communities. I do not mean just the radon testers, mitigators and manufacturers, I mean everyone! Companies, businesses and organizations in these communities giving back together synergistically to quantifiably save lives. I really do not care who gets the glory,
as long as we get it done. We should mitigate every
low-income house/home that has elevated radon
levels. No funding should not be our excuse.
Built in assured empowerment to address the
risk and save lives.
The Blame for Building a Door in Spite of the Wall
The grains of sand in my oyster caused the formation of the MOVES for Radon EJ project in the shell of my mind. I blame all of this on Calvin Murphy (AARST Foundation), Carolyn Allen-Koke (Spruce Environmental Technologies, Inc.), Gloria Linnertz/Jackie Nixon (CR3), Kyle Hoylman (CanSAR), Kevin Stewart (Mid-Atlantic ALA), Joana Stoms (PA DOH Cancer Coalition), Denise Bleiler and Bob Lewis (PA DEP Radon Program) and Dave Allard (PA DEP Bureau of Radiation Protection), Michelle Moyer (Environmental Protection Agency Region 3), Jorge Laguna (FL DOH Radon Program) and Mike Pyles (former PA DEP Radon Program).
Now to the pearl that is just starting to grow, due to the grains of sand. (You try being an oyster. It is not as easy as you may think.)
The MOVeS for Radon eJ critical Mission
To test 200 homes in low income communities per EPA/PA DEP radon testing protocols with state licensed radon testers (100% assured test results) and mitigate any/all homes with elevated radon levels (25-30+ homes) using state licensed radon mitigators at no cost to the program. The $10,000 grant is from the CDC. No grant funds will be used for the radon testing or the mitigation.
In working with Joanna Stoms (PA DOH Cancer Coalition) and Denise Bleiler (PA DEP Radiation Program), the chapter started to put together a program that would do the above and pull together people, organizations and groups synergistically, in order to achieve the critical mission goal. Some said it could not be done. The area we decided to focus on would be the Pittsburgh communities of Wilkinsburg and Homewood. We also partnered with three non-profit organizations to assist in our critical mission: Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction (Jackie Nixon), Conservation Consultants Inc. (CCI), a non- profit green building/energy organization that has existed for over forty years (physicist Alison Steele), and Habitat for Humanity (Derek Morris). Stoms and Bleiler submitted the grant proposal to the CDC naming the PA AARST Chapter as the prime coordinator receiving the grant.
The logistics of the MOVES for Radon EJ Lung Cancer Reduction Critical Mission Project will include the following activities:
1. Recruitment of PA certified radon testers and mitigators to the program through the PA AARST chapter. The participating radon testers will treat each home as a standard real estate transaction inspection, along with gathering key house/ structure information on the home.
2. An orientation meeting for radon testers and mitigators, along with required documentation, photo documentation, mitigation design for home and coordinated pre and post testing.
3. A specific Quality Assurance/Quality Control program, mitigation evaluation with documented design and O&M. Evaluation questionnaire for homeowner participants of the program.
4. Finalize with the PA DEP Radon Section, with the added incentive of PA DEP approved CE credits for the participants. This will be performed and orchestrated with Denise Bleiler and Bob Lewis.
5. Finalize logistics of the three radon mitigation fan suppliers that have agreed to participate in the program and donate radon mitigation fans.
6. Finalize agreements with testing labs to supply short- term and long-term radon detectors: at least 400+ short- term radon detectors and 100 long-term radon detectors to encompass both pre and post confirmatory radon testing.
7. Inventory management and disbursement logistics and storage location for supplies (fans, pipes, detectors).
8. After the program is approved, approach a big box store and other hardware/radon supplies companies for mitigation piping and associated connectors and request participation from other local businesses.
9. Initial identification of low-income homes in both communities by CCI: first focus will be individual homeowners, then full house rental occupants.
10. Habitat for Humanity to provide any special preparation, including pouring a new floor or other repairs to optimize homes for an ASD installation. In addition, this project will be used as a teaching tool for Habitat for Humanity-Pittsburgh in learning radon mitigation techniques with a secondary program for training and state certification for radon mitigation.
11. Establish logistics and required paperwork for participating in the program, including evaluation and qualifications for participating radon mitigators and testers. The team will conduct extensive outreach and seek media attention. After completion, evaluation surveys and reports will document results and lessons learned. PA AARST anticipates exploring future opportunities for follow-up, identifying the next PA communities to implement the program, and promulgating a model program to other AARST chapters and radon outreach non-profit organizations.
Environmental Justice
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