Federal Policy

The Business Case: Radon as an Important and Overlooked Public Health Problem outlines many of the reasons why requiring testing multifamily buildings using industry consensus standards and qualified personnel makes good business sense from the perspectives of return on investment, risk management, asset management, and health care cost containment, among others, ultimately protecting occupants from radon-induced lung cancer and other deadly diseases.

Federal-Level Organization Key Policy / Reference Materials
US Congress Indoor Radon Abatement Act
McKinney Act Amendments – Radon 
US Environmental Protection Agency Radon Program
Federal Register notices/background on EPA’s proposed framework for credentialing bodies
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “GSEs”)		 FHFA’s March 2025 Radon Policy Recission
FHFA’s January 2023 Radon Policy
Freddie Mac’s Exhibit 11
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Joint Multifamily Radon Policy FAQs
IEA and CRPCD’s August 2023 Webinar on FHFA/GSEs’ Multifamily Radon Policy
* slides from the webinar
US Department of Housing and Urban Development Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide
Proposed Changes to MAP Guide
Healthy Homes Program
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cancer Prevention and Control: Radon
Environmental Public Health Tracking: Radon
EPHT’s Radon Test Results – Maps and Data
NRAP Leadership Council Strategies: National Radon Action Plan
National Radon Action Plan

EARTH Study Results: Partial Testing of Multifamily Buildings Will Misrepresent Radon

“Evaluating and Assessing Radon Testing in Housing with Multifamily Financing” (EARTH) was a Healthy Homes Technical Study funded by HUD’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes and led by Health Research Inc. for the New York State Department of Health with assistance from the National Center for Healthy Housing. The primary aim of the study was to determine what is the protective multifamily ground contact unit radon testing protocol given the inconsistency among Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan policy (10% through June 2023), HUD FHA policy (25% until December 2020) and the ANSI-AARST MAMF standard (test each ground contact unit). In June 2021, the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice published Evaluating and Assessing Radon Testing in Multifamily Housing.

The study found that, to achieve 95% confidence that no units in the building have radon ≥ 4pCi/L in buildings up to 20 units, 100% sampling is required. This conclusion was reached after the analysis of nearly 8000 radon measurements in multifamily buildings quantified the probability of missing a ground-contact unit containing radon using partial-testing protocols of 10-25% in multifamily housing. Based on measurement data for buildings with 5-26 ground-contact units, the confidence that there are no units with radon ≥4 pCi/L, based on various sampling percentages, was determined. Sampling 10% and 25% of ground-contact units failed to identify, respectively, an average of 58% and 38% of ground-contact units with radon >4 pCi/L. For most multifamily buildings, all ground-contact units should be tested for radon. Watch the explainer video.

EPA Notice about Credentialing Bodies

In August 2017, EPA issued a Federal Register notice that the Agency intends to establish voluntary criteria for a standard of competence for organizations that credential radon service providers.  IEA supports EPA resuming its statutory role.