Federal Policy
| Entity | Resource(s) |
|---|---|
| US Congress | Indoor Radon Abatement Act |
| 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 January 2023 Announcement |
| 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 |
| Multiple Organizations | National Radon Action Plan Federal 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. For buildings of 5-26 ground-contact units, sampling 10% and 25% of ground-contact units failed to identify an average of 47-69% and 34-46% of ground-contact units with radon >4 pCi/L, respectively. For most multifamily building sizes, all ground-contact units in the buildings 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.