Areas Facing Radon Danger Unlikely To Adopt New Prevention Measures

May 2, 1996

GAINESVILLE—Florida has new building standards to keep radon from seeping into homes, but areas that face the greatest threat from the gas likely will not adopt the preventive measures, says a researcher who helped develop them.

“With the political pressures on the counties, those that need the standards the most are the ones that are the least likely to implement them,” said David Hintenlang, associate professor of nuclear engineering sciences at the University of Florida College of Engineering.

UF has spent more than 20 years researching radon, a naturally occurring, invisible and odorless gas that can cause lung cancer. When indoor radon came to the forefront as a public health concern several years ago, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, which implements building codes for the state, asked UF researchers to help develop statewide standards to prevent high levels of radon in new homes and larger buildings.

The standards they recommended ranged from passive, such as sealing foundations and checking for radon in sand below the concrete, to active — including using systems to suck air from under the slab. The standards were initially tested in houses built in the Gainesville area and Polk County. Interaction with builders enabled the researchers to develop standards that were practical and relatively inexpensive — about $300 to $500 for an active system in a typical new single-family home.

But when the standards were presented to state legislators last spring, opposition arose. Active systems were thrown out by legislators. And instead of implementing the remaining standards statewide as originally planned, legislators gave each county the option of adopting the standards.

Mo Madani, planning manager with the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee, said no county so far has initiated action to adopt the standards. While his department has offered technical assistance to the counties, Madani said, some local leaders may find it hard to justify adopting the standards when radon levels within individual counties can vary greatly.

“We’ve done what we could to establish the standards,” Madani said. “And I don’t see any further action taking place in the near future.”

Emmett Bolch, associate chairman and professor of environmental engineering at UF, said that while he objects to implementing the standards statewide, it’s clear politicians fear “redlining” — indicating their district is more hazardous than a neighboring one.

When lawmakers considered the proposed residential standards last year, opposition was particularly strong in Polk County, where a potential source of radon is gypsum, a chemical byproduct created during the manufacturing of phosphoric acid. It contains radium, which creates radon as it decays. Polk’s state lawmakers said they were concerned that redlining the county as a “high-radon area” would hurt industry and stunt growth.

The Florida Homebuilders Association and the Florida Association of Realtors also opposed the proposed state rules, which they said would cause the price of new homes to skyrocket.

Madani said his department has submitted proposed standards for commercial buildings to lawmakers, though no action has been taken so far. He expects their fate will be similar to that of the residential standards.

“Indoor radon is a carcinogen,” Hintenlang said. “You see a lot of controversy as to what concentrations should be regulated, but there are areas of the state where you have houses that have radon significantly above acceptable levels. And those are really the houses that we’re most concerned about.”