By Margaret Henderson
Through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services contracts with 16 local public health agencies to serve as Radon Information Centers to serve all counties in the state by providing radon information and assistance. This arrangement with the local health agencies makes it possible for people in rural areas to be served at the local level. Also, when funds are available, additional mini-grants are provided to fund particular outreach activities in local areas.
Outreach activities at the state level include providing meeting and training opportunities and creating new partnerships to expand the message about testing for radon. Wisconsin has traditionally held a meeting for contractors and local public health every two years. Plans are underway for a meeting in the fall of 2015 with a focus on estate transactions and getting realtors up to date on radon information. The Wisconsin radon conference participants typically include contractors, local health agency personnel, inspectors, mitigators and measurement professionals. Training opportunities are posted on the website https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/radon/training.htm.
Continuing outreach to communities and groups has a goal of getting more homes tested in Wisconsin, where less than 1% of the estimated 2,633,330 homes in the state were tested in 2013. Additionally, the department would like to increase the number of test results provided to them in order to improve the database of information provided to the public.
Five to ten per cent of homes in Wisconsin have radon levels above the EPA’s recommended action level of 4pCi/L and every region has some homes with elevated radon levels. In December of 2014, the department website launched the Wisconsin Interactive Radon Map to provide a visualization of test results that represent the aggregated results from 131,877 radon tests reported to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from 1991-2012. The map features results by zip code area; gives contact information for Radon Information Centers; shows the percentage of test results above 4pC/L and average radon levels; and has a search feature for address or place.
Although the result of a radon test within a zip code area does not adequately predict the risk of elevated radon in any other home, the map is a tool for encouraging testing. Jessica Maloney, Radon Program Manager, notes “Testing a home is the only way to be certain of the radon level in your home.”
Both the map and explanations given in a recent publication, “Lung Cancer Risk and Radon in Wisconsin: The Need for Increased Testing and Improved Reporting,” (WI Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, January 2015), encourage testing for radon. The publication notes that “the darkest two shades indicate areas of the state where more than half of tested homes have elevated levels of radon.” Ms. Maloney notes that plans for enhancing the interactive map include providing a geological overlay. She commented that Central Wisconsin is in an area of granite and the state has glacial features and deposits that have bearing on the radon levels, and the geologic feature would add that environmental detail to the map. The publication reiterates the goals of 1) increased testing and mitigation and 2) improved collection and systematic reporting of testing and mitigation data. The paper explains, “Better collection and reporting will lead to more complete and accurate data, which will improve the understanding of Wisconsin’s radon exposure risk profile.” The Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer and Control Plan 2015-2020, to be released in the near future, makes decreasing exposure to radon a priority.
Public information responses are made through a Radon Hotline 1-888 LOW RADON (1-888-569-7236) that automatically routes calls to the appropriate Radon Information Center.
The department website contains useful guidance and the interactive map at www.lowradon.org.
For more information, contact:
Jessica Maloney
Radon Program Manager
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
1 West Wilson Street Room 150
Madison, WI 53703
Telephone 608-267-7199
FAX 608-267-4853
United States