CR3 News Magazine 2020 VOL 1: JANUARY National Radon Action Month | Page 7

011 Community Outreach for Lung Cancer Prevention through Radon Testing in Homes, Including
Those in High Priority Areas Throughout Pennsylvania
Gloria J. Linnertz, and Jacquelyn E. Nixon
Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction (CRR) Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PA
Background: Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and causes approximately 21,000
deaths annually from lung cancer according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Pennsylvania (PA) has some of the highest concentrations in the U.S. Although there have been strides
acknowledging the risk, radon testing and mitigation are still correspondingly low and appear to reflect
the general public’s belief that their risks from radon are lower than the risks faced by others. Our
community outreach: Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction (CR3), a nationwide advocacy nonprofit
organization, addresses the need for stronger public engagement, greater outreach, and targeted radon
awareness initiatives on an “ongoing” statewide level with more aggressive campaigns that emphasize
radon as a cause of lung cancer. CR3 outreach initiatives include: “Teachers for Radon Reduction”
which brings teachers, parents, and others together in an effort to encourage radon testing in schools
throughout PA. “CR3 Support for PA House Bill 1057” - encourages PA to support passing a law requiring
radon testing of all schools in PA. “CR3 News Magazine” -- the only magazine in the world dedicated to
radon and lung cancer-- in every healthcare facility with the express purpose of informing the non-
smoking lung cancer patient and medical community about radon as a possible cause. “Radon Results
Reported to Physicians” -- a radon health care alert that would report radon levels to physicians
regarding patient exposure at the time of testing upon the request of the individual and would provide a
platform for physician analysis of a patient’s risk from exposure. Alerting the physician could possibly
trigger additional analysis and add value to the ability to properly diagnose lung cancer, strengthen the
process of the early detection of radon, improve benchmark statistics that support national monitoring
of progress towards radon-related lung cancer reduction, and possibly help save lives from this mostly
unknown killer. “(MOVeS) for Radon Project” – Partnered with PA AARST in the development of
outreach services for free radon testing and mitigation of homes in Pittsburgh. These initiatives
combined aim to help address environmental equity and lung cancer prevention.