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CDC provides ongoing consultation to EPA and other agencies concerning
the health risks associated with residential radon. CDC began work in the
mid-1980s by co-authoring the 1st edition (and later cosponsoring the 2nd
edition) of the nationally recognized public education manual, "A Citizen’s
Guide to Radon." Over the years, this citizen’s guide has been widely used
by federal, state, and local agencies to alert and inform people about the
risks of residential radon.
CDC researchers have completed two studies that evaluated general public
awareness and behavior with regard to residential radon-testing programs.
Using data from the National Health Interview Survey and the National
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC learned that people in
minority groups or with low levels of income or education were significantly
less likely to have heard of residential radon and its potential health
risks than were whites or people with higher levels of income or education.
CDC also learned that the level of radon awareness varies from state to
state. Through studies, CDC determined that there was evidence that levels
of radon awareness increased from 1982 to 1992, but data also suggest that
continued education and further interventions may be necessary to reach the
Public Health Service’s objective that at least 40% of homes in the U.S. be
tested for the presence of radon.
CDC researchers also completed a cost effectiveness analysis which examined
several strategies for a residential radon testing and mitigation program in
the U.S. for the prevention of lung cancer deaths associated with
residential radon exposure. The report details the program costs and
estimated lung cancer deaths prevented from both the current Environmental
Protection Agency universal radon testing program and several targeted
programs. The results of this analysis suggest that approaches to testing
and mitigation which are different from the current recommendations of
universal screening may be more cost effective. Specifically, residential
radon testing programs targeted at areas with predicted elevated radon
levels may be more cost effective than programs with universal testing of
all residences. Similarly, beginning mitigation of detected high radon
levels after a second confirmatory test may be more cost effective than
beginning mitigation after results from a single screening test. These
results were published in March 1999 in the American Journal of Public
Health.
The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's "A Citizen's Guide to Radon"
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