A silent intruder
Should radon be considered in new building code?

By Eric Fleischauer
DAILY Staff Writer
Printed: April 14, 2002; The Decatur Daily News, online edition

Not many in Decatur smoke 180 cigarettes a day, but according to health officials the cancer risk from radon is equally high for some city residents.

And while up to 30,000 people a year die from radon-related lung cancer, the Decatur Building Department proposes omitting radon protection from a new building code.

Jimmy Brothers, Building Department director, proposes that the City Council adopt a new standardized building code, but he wants to omit a section requiring passive radon protection for newly constructed houses.

The council will have a public hearing on adoption of the code May 6 at 7 p.m.

"The fact of the matter is," Brothers said, "we have big radon problems in North Alabama. From a political standpoint, though, radon protection is just not going to fly."

Trinity resident Don Steele, one of few in the area certified to install radon protection systems, said people need this protection.

"We just don't want people living with this stuff … If you had a rattlesnake in your house, he might never bite you. But you wouldn't want him there," Steele said.

The main political impediment to including the radon protection, according to some city officials, is the Decatur Home Builders Association.

John Mitchell, president of that organization, said deletion of the radon protection provision "was already agreed upon. That's not an issue anymore."

Not a done deal

Council member Dot Montgomery said it is not a done deal.

"We haven't even had the public hearings yet," she said. Referring to an April 1 council work session, she added, "That was the first I heard of it. … I was a little concerned when I heard that. I'll be trying to get more information on it."

Council President Pat Woller said omission of the radon protection measure is acceptable to her because the home buyer should be able to choose.

"I think I would have it put in if I were building a house, though," she said.

Mitchell said that the cost of radon protection in new construction ranges from $500 to $2,000. He said he feels the expense is unnecessary in most homes.

Statistics on radon deaths vary, depending on the source. According to the National Safety Council, 20,000 people die every year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, radon causes between 7,000 and 30,000 lung cancer deaths annually.

Among nation's worst

The EPA says that radon levels in Morgan County are among the worst in the nation.

James McNees, radon contact for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said some studies suggest that 1 picocurie per liter of air of radon roughly equates to the lung cancer risk of two cigarettes per day. Some readings in Decatur, he said, show a risk equivalent to 180 cigarettes per day.

"I would hate to see them do that in Morgan County," McNees said of omitting the building code requirement. "If I lived in Decatur, I know I'd want radon protection."

Julie Dutton, coordinator for the Morgan County Extension System, agrees with that assessment.

"It makes sense in this county for the building code to require radon protection," she said. "That avoids the need for testing or expensive repairs later on."

She said radon is particularly bad in parts of Decatur near Trinity, where she obtained readings of up to 90 picocuries per liter of air -- more than 20 times the 4-picocurie level the EPA deems to be hazardous. She said readings in the east end of Morgan routinely run near 20 picocuries per liter.

Ms. Dutton notes that passive radon protection solves less serious problems, too.