Map created by
davidcansler
Source: Oregon Health Authority
WHAT TENANTS WEREN’T TOLD
Even housing authorities that test extensively and remove any radon they nd can
drop the ball in other ways. Portland, Oregon, is a prime example.
Of cials with Multnomah County’s housing authority, Home Forward, knew they
had radon in public housing as far back as 2011. Home Forward sold off one of its
single-family units that year, and the private buyer wanted tests done rst. The
housing authority agreed to install a radon removal system, records show.
But Home Forward faced a backlog of other needs at that point, a spokesman said
in a statement. The agency did not begin testing other public housing units in
earnest until 2017. Even then, testing only happened when major renovations
were scheduled.
Very quickly, Home Forward found radon. Tests during the second month of
inspections revealed radioactivity in six units at Dahlke Manor in Northeast
Portland, including one with radioactivity nearly eight times the federal action
level.
Home Forward took three months to tell the tenants they were breathing a
carcinogen in their homes. It took a full year to install a removal system, in part
because of a permitting problem.
Home Forward could not produce a schedule for completing radon testing at other
complexes when The Oregonian/OregonLive requested it in May 2018. Instead, a
spokesman provided the agency’s renovation schedule calling for work elsewhere
to be completed by spring 2021.