by Margaret Henderson
The Lead & Healthy Homes Program of the State Department of Health has the responsibility of licensing radon testers and mitigators in the State of Indiana, and providing the public information about radon and its effects.
Almost all of the state is in either Zone 1 or 2, according to the EPA maps of Indiana, indicating that much of the population may be potentially exposed to concentrations in excess of the 4 pCi/L action level EPA recommends. Nearly one out of every three homes in Indiana is estimated to have radon levels greater than 4.0 pCi/L, according to the program’s radon fact sheet.
The program emphasizes that the only way to be sure of the radon level is to “test your home." Homes with elevated levels of radon have been found in all areas of Indiana.
The Indiana State Department of Health website uses a series of maps to provide information about radon test results in recent years as an encouragement to the public to test their homes.
In 2013, 15,744 homes tested for radon. Of that, the highest percent of homes with test results exceeding 4 pCi/L was 79%, found in Carroll County.
In 2014, the 12 highest radon test results were greater than 70 pCi/L, found in these counties:
• Porter
• St. Joseph
• Noble
• Allen
• Hamilton
• Wayne
• Marion
• Fayette
• Johnson
• Ripley
• Clark
• Harrison
See:
http://www.in.gov/isdh/files/2014__-__12_Highest_Radon_Results_in_Indiana.pdf
Additional maps show findings for the period 2007-2014. Maps also show per centages of homes that have installed mitigation systems
For more information about the program and radon in Indiana, contact:
Jeffery Turner at 1-317-234-4423
JTURNER@ISDH.IN.GOV
Indiana Radon Hotline: 1-800-272-9723
http://www.in.gov/isdh/24346.htm
United States