By Margaret Henderson
In Montana, new outreach activities, new studies underway and new approaches direct focus onto radon issues.
Last June, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Radon Control Program hosted its first ever radon conference, drawing a crowd of approximately 30 participants. Individuals from Montana State University, University of Montana, Montana Tech, tribal representatives, measurement professionals, mitigators, EPA, United States Geological Survey (USGS), and representatives from the counties of Missoula, Ravalli, Gallatin and Flathead attended. The purpose of the meeting was to identify stakeholders and exchange information about what activities are occurring in Montana regarding radon. Building on the success of the event, another conference is being planned for this fall or winter, possibly with a continuing educational component to be included.
Other outreach activities this year included a presentation by John Podolinsky of the Radon Control Program made at the EPA Region 8 Tribal Air Program Manager’s Conference sponsored by the Helena EPA Region 8 office. In addition, Paul Tschida of the Radon Control Program provided a number of radon educational trainings to realtors and residential energy interested parties in Montana last year. The Program also distributed radon information and free testing kits at a number of trade shows in Montana.
New studies underway will offer new and updated analytical information about radon concentrations and potentials in Montana. The EPA classification map indicates that most of Montana is in Zone 1, where radon concentrations are depicted as exceeding 4 pCi/L, the EPA’s recommended action level.
The Missoula County Health Department will be providing test results from free test kits distributed for a study to be done in conjunction with the University of Montana student interns. Students will map results and post findings on the county’s health department website. A previous study, Radon Levels in Missoula County: An Updated Study (2011) reported that Missoula County has a high potential for radon. This study included data points from testing done since 1993. The report concluded that “more than 54% of the homes tested in the county were over the action level, 35% between 4.0 and 10pCi/L, and roughly 5% with levels higher than 20pCi/L.” The new study will provide more recent test results.
An additional 1500 test kits were distributed to homeowners within the 56 counties in Montana, with more than 554 results having been received thus far by the Radon Control Program. The results will be released to the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Using the results, the Bureau hopes to map and correlate findings with geologic outcrops and groundwater radon levels. In Montana, Mr. Podolinsky noted, an estimated 94% of the rural population use groundwater supplies for potable water, and 39% of public water supplies come from groundwater, so radon studies related to groundwater constituents will provide information applicable to a large portion of the population.
An earlier groundwater study was done by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Occurrence and Hydrogeochemistry of Radiochemical Constituents in Groundwater of Jefferson County and Surrounding Areas, Southwestern Montana, 2007 through 2010, was prepared in cooperation with Jefferson County and the Jefferson Valley Conservation District, Montana. It can be accessed at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5235/
The Radon Control Program maintains a website with considerable detail about radon so that the public can become informed about radon, how to test, radon resistant new construction, radon in water, mitigation, and radon in real estate transactions. Additionally, studies done on Montana radon levels can be accessed through links on the website.
Mr. Podolinsky noted an interesting aspect to radon in Montana. He explained, “As an aside, there are a number of radon health mines between Helena and Butte. They exist in old mines and capitalize on the term hormesis, a hotly disputed theory that low-level radiation improves the immune system. The therapeutic use of radon involves the intake of radon gas either through inhalation or by ingestion of radon dissolved in water. It is thought most of the radon is subsequently discharged through exhalation, but a small amount remains in the body as radioactive radon progeny, which are physiologically active through their continued decay. Radon taken at therapeutic doses appears to be a relatively popular alternative to conventional biomedical treatment that apparently relieves pain and other symptoms of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.”
For more information about radon in Montana, contact:
Radon Information Toll-free Hotline:
1-800-546-0483
John Podolinsky or Paul Tschida
http://deq.mt.gov/energy/radon.mcpx
Reference studies:
Radon Levels in Missoula County: An Updated Study, December 15, 2011, by Alisha Johnson, R.S., Erik Englebert, M.S., R.S., and Mary Lou Gilman, M.Ed., R.S.
Occurrence and Hydrogeochemistry of Radiochemical Constituents in Groundwater of Jefferson County and Surrounding Areas, Southwestern Montana, 2007 through 2010, by Rodney R. Caldwell, David A. Nimick, and Rainie M. DeVaney.
United States