Radon Research

CDC provides ongoing consultation to EPA and other agencies concerning the health risks associated with residential radon. CDC began work in the mid-1980s by co-authoring the 1st edition (and later cosponsoring the 2nd edition) of the nationally recognized public education manual, "A Citizen’s Guide to Radon." Over the years, this citizen’s guide has been widely used by federal, state, and local agencies to alert and inform people about the risks of residential radon.

CDC researchers have completed two studies that evaluated general public awareness and behavior with regard to residential radon-testing programs. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC learned that people in minority groups or with low levels of income or education were significantly less likely to have heard of residential radon and its potential health risks than were whites or people with higher levels of income or education. CDC also learned that the level of radon awareness varies from state to state. Through studies, CDC determined that there was evidence that levels of radon awareness increased from 1982 to 1992, but data also suggest that continued education and further interventions may be necessary to reach the Public Health Service’s objective that at least 40% of homes in the U.S. be tested for the presence of radon.

CDC researchers also completed a cost effectiveness analysis which examined several strategies for a residential radon testing and mitigation program in the U.S. for the prevention of lung cancer deaths associated with residential radon exposure. The report details the program costs and estimated lung cancer deaths prevented from both the current Environmental Protection Agency universal radon testing program and several targeted programs. The results of this analysis suggest that approaches to testing and mitigation which are different from the current recommendations of universal screening may be more cost effective. Specifically, residential radon testing programs targeted at areas with predicted elevated radon levels may be more cost effective than programs with universal testing of all residences. Similarly, beginning mitigation of detected high radon levels after a second confirmatory test may be more cost effective than beginning mitigation after results from a single screening test. These results were published in March 1999 in the American Journal of Public Health.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "A Citizen's Guide to Radon"