IEA_AARST_Radon_Reporter_JUNE_2024

THE RADON REPORTER | 9 Chapter Leadership Above L-R: Kirsten Schmidt (T), Dan Potter (VP), Jim Emanual (P), Aaron Morris (S) Above left: Dan Potter, Senator Laura Ellman, Gloria Linnertz; Above right: Glorida Linnertz, Senator David Koehler, Dan Potter Illinois Capitol Visits - March 2024 The Midwest IEA Radon Taskforce has advanced two identical bills - SB 3645 and HB 5226 - in the Illinois General Assembly. Both would require that school districts get all schools tested for radioactive radon (and mitigate if high levels are found). More than 40% of buildings in Illinois still have dangerous levels of radon. Midwest Radon Stakeholder Conference The Midwest IEA Chapter conducted its annual training day on March 15. Chapter Vice President, Dan Potter, emceed the conference with approximately 180 attendees. The group conducted legislator outreach to promote the school radon bill that is currently in the Illinois General Assembly. Over 600 calls were made to legislators! EPA Region 7 / Heartland Meeting The EPA Region 7 / Heartland Chapter meeting occurred on March 12, in Independence, Missouri. Presentations included Chad Robinson on “Hunting the Source: Technology for Radon Tracking,” Jim Medley addressing “Case Studies of Difficult Mitigations,” and Laura Turner (American Lung Association) regarding MO House Bill 2451 which would regulate measurement and mitigation work in MO. This meeting also featured speakers from EPA, the State radon programs in IA KS MO and NE as well as CRCPD and IEA National. The EPA Tri-Regional Meeting The EPA Tri-Regional Meeting consisted of EPA Regions 8, 9 and 10, and occurred on April 23-24, in Reno, Nevada. In the keynote presentation, Dr. Chivonne Harrigal, MD, a board-certified radiologist who specializes in cancer imaging, discussed the importance of screening by Dr. Eric Whitsel, Professor of Epidemiology and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill spoke about associations for post-menopausal women between radon exposure and risk of stroke as well as risk of acquired mutations predictive of stroke.