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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Radon Toxicity
Standards and Regulations
- No enforceable regulations exist to control indoor radon levels—only guidelines and a national goal.
No regulations mandate specific radon levels for indoor residential and school environments—only guidelines for remediation, such as the EPA recommendations and a national goal. EPA based its guidelines not only on risk considerations, but also on technical feasibility. No level at which the risk of exposure to alpha emitters is zero is thought to exist. Many standards and guidelines for radon are being reviewed (Table 3 and Table 4), and changes might occur over time. EPA or state health departments should therefore be consulted for the most up-to-date standards.
- The national goal is for indoor radon levels to be as low as those outdoors. About 0.4 pCi/L radon is normally found in outside air.
In October 1988, the Indoor Radon Abatement Act was passed. This act states that the "national long-term goal of the United States with respect to radon levels in buildings is that the air within buildings in the United States should be as free of radon as the ambient air outside of buildings." The act mandates that EPA update its publication, A Citizen's Guide to Radon,  and provide a series of action levels indicating the health risk associated with these various levels. The guide will also provide information on the risk to sensitive populations, testing methods, and the cost and feasibility of mitigation techniques. EPA recommends remediation for homes and other buildings with levels above 4 pCi/L, with the caveat that corrective action be taken below this level on a case-by-case basis.
| Source |
Focus |
Level* |
Comments |
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Indoor Radon Abatement Act
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Indoor air (residential)
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Indoor = outdoor (~0.4 pCi/L)
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National goal
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| National Council for Radon Protection |
Indoor air (residential) |
8 pCi/L |
Guideline |
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
Indoor air (residential) |
4 pCi/L |
Current action level |
| Schools |
4 pCi/L† |
Guideline for action |
| Water |
4,000 pCi/L with state indoor air risk reduction program
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Proposed regulation |
| 300 pCi/L without state indoor air risk reduction program |
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*pCi/L: picocuries per liter.
†The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends action below 4 pCi/L in schools on a case-by-case basis.
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| Source |
Focus |
Level |
Comments |
| National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
Occupational (mining) |
1 WLM */year and ALARA† |
Advisory; exposure limit |
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
Occupational |
4 WLM/year |
Regulation |
| Mine Safety and Health Administration |
Mining |
4 WLM/year |
Regulation |
| American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists |
Occupational |
4 WLM/year |
Advisory for radon daughters |
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*WLM (working-level month): a unit of measure commonly used in occupational environments. (Because WLM bears a complex relationship to picocuries per liter, physicians with responsibility for mine workers are urged to contact the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for further information.)
†ALARA: as low as reasonably achievable.
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| 9. | The local power company has offered free radon detection devices to all of its customers. The average level of radon in the classrooms of your patient's grandson is found to be 20 pCi/L. What should the community's recourse be to protect its children? |
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