Katherine says , “ After nearly three decades , it still surprises me how many people have never heard of radon , let alone understand the risks and how to protect themselves .” Katherine ’ s long history of working on radon risk reduction , and her experience as a health educator , give her a unique perspective on how and why to communicate about radon .
When Katherine Pruitt started working at the Lung Association on the Radon Public Outreach program in 1993 , indoor air pollution was just emerging as a topic in environmental health . In the last few decades , the number of buildings tested for radon nationally has increased .
Still , radon awareness lags behind other environmental health issues in the public sphere . It ’ s a challenging topic to engage the public in . Even when people have heard of radon , it ’ s easy to forget about . It cannot be seen or smelled and does not cause any immediate health effects . And while testing and mitigation may not seem like laborious tasks , they do require people to go a little out of their way to protect themselves from a threat that doesn ’ t seem to impact their daily lives . This is in contrast to easily followed public health interventions like avoiding certain foods or substances or taking actions to protect from an immediate threat , like washing your hands during flu season .
Katherine has also observed another challenge in raising awareness , “ There ’ s no ‘ enemy ’ for radon . There ’ s no industry or corporation to blame for the deaths that can occur from radon exposure . People tend to notice and rally behind issues that have an ‘ enemy ’. Yet many of those issues are less pervasive or deadly .” Just like an eye-catching news headline , a public health threat that triggers emotional responses like anger and blame or shock and fear are the ones people are most likely to notice , remember , and act upon .
Refreshing the Approach to Outreach
About 2 years ago , Katherine Pruitt was appointed to her current position as National Senior Director of Policy and convener of the NRAP Leadership Council . Under her leadership , the NRAP Council published the National Radon Action Plan , 2021-2025 in January 2022 . The 5-year plan sets a goal for the nation to find , fix , and prevent high indoor radon levels in 8 million buildings by 2025 and prevent 3,500 lung cancer deaths per year . Like previous versions of the national strategy , the newest plan includes four main pillars : build in risk reduction , provide incentives and support for radon risk reduction , test and mitigate using professional radon services , and increase visibility . This last pillar aims to expand public awareness about the risk of radon and the importance of radon risk reduction .