AARST_Radon_Reporter_Q32025_Single

THE RADON REPORTER | 15 • January 19, 2023: With FHFA, the GSEs announced their joint policy. FHFA stated that the agency “will continue to monitor the multifamily mortgage market and will coordinate with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its continuing efforts to address radon. Further adjustments may be warranted based on results from an evaluation of the Enterprises’ radon testing standards to ensure they are comprehensive, data informed, fully understood by property owners, and properly implemented and enforced.” xx • March 29, 2023: In a response to a letter about the limitations of the GSEs’ policy, FHFA stated it “recognizes more work is needed on radon,” “believes there are information gaps regarding radon in multifamily buildings,” and “was partnering with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to identify opportunities and challenges in collecting radon data at multifamily properties with Enterprise-backed mortgages.” FHFA also stated, “In 2024, after they collect additional property data, the Enterprises will reassess costs, delays, and their ability to meet their mission, including any impacts to affordability and liquidity across market cycles. Your feedback will help to inform the final radon policy.” xxi • March 26, 2025: Claiming that the policy added “time, expense, and operational complexity” and was “no longer consistent with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s priorities and objectives as conservator,” offering no indication of re-evaluation based on facts, FHFA rescinded its prior directive for GSE radon testing and mitigation. xxii • April – June 2025: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac retreated from the joint 2022 policy to only require radon testing and mitigation if there is a state or local requirement, or when “the Environmental Professional recommends that testing be conducted,” which has been interpreted by the environmental due diligence industry as radon testing in EPA Radon Zone 1 only. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac testing protocol requirements have reverted to 10% of ground contact units or one ground contact unit per building with no requirements for additional units tested within buildings determined to have elevated radon concentrations. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reliance on the 1993 EPA Radon Zones for determining if radon testing should be conducted is a flawed screening method: high concentrations of radon have been determined present in all EPA radon zones and most counties. • Data reported to CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network by labs and states indicate that only 13% of US counties had no radon test result above the EPA action level of four picocuries per liter of air between 2008 and 2017; fewer than ten test results were reported in 85% of these counties during the entire ten-year period. xxiii US COUNTIES’ HIGHEST RADON LEVELS i National Research Council. Health E ects of Exposure to Radon: BEIR VI. 1999. ii Bowles, T, Return on Investment for Radon Reduction (Presentation). 2024. iii National Institutes of Health. Cancer Trends Progress Report. 2022. iv National Institutes of Health. Productivity Costs of Cancer Mortality in the US. 2008. v US EPA, Assessment of Risks from Radon in Homes, 2003. vi US Census, Population and Housing Estimate Tables, 2025. vii Ibid. ix Indoor Environments Association, Cost Analysis. 2021. x Ibid. xi Neri, A, Evaluation of percentage-based radon testing requirements for federally funded multi-family housing projects; J Occup Environ Hyg. 2019 Apr;16(4):302-307. xii Kitto, M. et al., Evaluating and Assessing Radon Testing inMultifamily Housing , Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 28(2):p E525-E532, March/April 2022. xiii Ibid. xiv Vega v. Semple , US Ct of Appeals, 2 n d Circuit. 2020 xv Ledg Cap., LLC v. Cove, L.P., 2024 Ala. Cir. LEXIS 36 . 2024 xvi US Census, American Community Survey. 2025 xvii Jensen, S, HUD FHA Radon Policy, Presentation. 2021 xviii HUD, Mortgagee Letter 13-07 . 2013 xix HUD, MAP Guide Briefing Webinar . 2021 xx FHFA, Radon Standards Release. 2023 xxi FHFA, FHFA Letter to CRCPD and AARST , 2023 xxii Pulte, W, Posting on X. 2025 xxiii CDC, National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, Data Explorer