Radon vote uncertain; public seminar Tuesday

By Eric Fleischauer
DAILY Staff Writer
Printed: July 26, 2002; The Decatur Daily News, online edition

Councilman Ronny Russell says the time has come to incorporate radon reduction requirements into the Decatur building code.

After tabling the issue several times, the City Council will vote in September on whether to include a requirement for passive radon reduction systems in new residential construction.

The Morgan County Extension Service will be host for a seminar for the City Council, homebuilders and the public Tuesday at 6 p.m. on the seventh floor of City Hall.

Jack Hughes, an instructor at Auburn University's Southern Radon Training Center, will speak.

Mayor Lynn C. Fowler opposes the radon reduction requirement. Council President Pat Woller has not publicly stated a position, but her comments thus far suggest she will oppose it.

"Some people have told me we don't even have authority to pass this," Mrs. Woller said.

She said she did not remember who told her this.

City Attorney Herman Marks said there is no legal limitation on the City Council's authority to require radon reduction systems.

In addition to Russell, Councilman Phil Hastings and Council member Dot Montgomery have spoken favorably about the requirement, although they haven't said how they will vote.

Hastings, who said he would attend the extension meeting, said, "I am very concerned about the health risk associated with radon and the risk to the community."

Ms. Montgomery prefers educating people about the risks of radon to adding building code requirements, but she struggles with how to deal with people who buy new homes after construction.

She prefers a flexible requirement that permits those who build their own home to have a choice on whether to include radon reduction, but which requires homebuilders to include radon reduction systems in other new homes.

"But that (differential treatment) may not work. … I'm deeply concerned about it. The builders don't want it," Ms. Montgomery said.

Members of the Decatur Home Builders Association expressed opposition to the radon reduction requirement at a City Council work session in May and a pre-council meeting in June.

Both Hastings and Russell said they would attend Tuesday's meeting.

Councilman Billy Jackson said he plans to attend, but he said he thinks he will vote against the radon reduction requirement.

"I think the (building) code really already takes care of this," he said.

Morgan County Extension Agent Julie Dutton, who accepted an invitation to speak to the City Council in May, provided the council with the results of 534 radon tests from Decatur residences. About 13 percent had readings that exceeded EPA safety levels.

Jackson said he was not aware of these radon-test statistics.

Decatur is within an area categorized as "Zone 1" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That means the radon threat in this area is in the highest category in the United States.

"After receiving a personal letter from the EPA, I realized that it is important to make people feel safe and protected," Russell said.

Merits Regulation?

Russell said he was not sure that the health risk merited the regulation. "However, the perception of the radon threat due to the warnings from the EPA and the classification of our area as a Zone 1 area make the requirements a necessity in my mind," he said.

Mrs. Woller said she worries that radon reduction is best handled through education of the public, although she acknowledged that many people do not purchase new homes until after they are built.

She also said she thinks people in Decatur are unconcerned about the radon threat.

"Are they concerned about it? I don't think we've had a single person come in and ask a question about radon. It borders on more regulation than we should have on an individual. ... Legally I'm not sure we even have the authority," Mrs. Woller said.

Mrs. Woller said she will try to attend Tuesday's meeting, but expressed frustration at its organization. "I really wish they had contacted us first. I think it would have been nice to be contacted instead of just getting a memo," she said.

I really wish they would have contacted us first. I think it would have been nice to be contacted instead of just getting a memo," she said.