The Indoor Environments Association, formerly known as AARST, addresses radon, chemical vapor intrusion, and other contaminants of concern in the built environment.
Volume 10 • No. 1 January 2024
News and Events for the Radon and Vapor Intrusion Industry
Table of Contents
Indoor Environments™ 2024 CALL FOR SPEAKERS OPEN
January is NRAM
Membership Campaign Kickoff
Newly Certified First-cycle Checklist
NRPP Subject Matter Volunteers Needed
NRPP Exams are Now Live
~ Wishing you good health and new and exciting opportunities for your business and communities in the New Year! ~
NEW! Call for Abstracts for 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 2024™ 𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐦, September 15 – 18, 2024 | Orlando, Florida
The largest gathering of specialists, educators, manufacturers, researchers, and technicians in the field of soil gas contaminants in the US.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 of 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 1, 2024.
American Radon Policy Campaign (ARPC) Advertisers Needed for 2024!
The American Radon Policy Campaign (ARPC) was created to convince key federal policymakers to provide leadership in protecting people from radon exposure. Since 2013, the ARPC Advertisers program has been the mechanism through which members purchase advertising to support the association’s government affairs work.
All payments to ARPC Advertisers are tax-deductible business expenses.
Legislative support for action on radon, vapor intrusion, and other contaminants is governed by political choices about budget priorities, environmental policies, and consumer protection. Lobbying and other advocacy activities fuel political outcomes. Like any other serious industry, the soil gas profession needs experienced representation in Washington DC and state capitols across the US to tell the story of exposure risk and explain what actions can help reduce risk (and which ones increase risk). It costs money to deliver those messages. SUPPORT POLICY CHANGE HERE
January is National Radon Action Month!
National Radon Action Month (NRAM) is the crucial period dedicated to raising awareness about the hidden dangers of radon gas. Indoor Environments Association (formerly known as AARST), chapters, and members play a pivotal role in spearheading this annual initiative. The goal of National Radon Action Month is to empower individuals, communities, and policymakers to take proactive steps in reducing radon exposure and minimizing the associated health risks.
Look for resources from Indoor Environments Association, including:
- Updated imagery that can be downloaded and reposted on your social media pages, business pages, and personal pages
- Printable templates for door hangers to put in your local community
- Resources for general information about raising awareness of what radon is and its implications
Industry Events
OSHR Worksite Wellness: Radon Awareness and Lung Cancer Risks
Location: Virtual event; click here to register
Date and time: Tue, Jan 9, 2024 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM ET
Organizer: NCFlex, ncflex@nc.gov
The presentation will highlight research conducted by Duke University on how climate change may impact radon levels, as well as the impact on historically marginalized populations. Dr. Tomi Akinyemiju, associate director of the Duke Cancer Institute, and NC Radon Program Coordinator Phillip Gibson will present during this event.
NRPP Volunteer Radon Experts Needed
NRPP is seeking volunteer subject matter experts for a number of its certification activities. We rely on the expertise of radon practitioners in the development of all our certification activities. Our programs are designed by the radon industry, for the radon industry, and we have a number of ongoing and future opportunities available.
We are in search of volunteers who would like to get involved in the certification development process which includes serving on a JTA (job task analysis) panel, writing and reviewing test questions for the various exams, and setting the passing scores on future exams. Detailed descriptions of these tasks can be found on the recruitment form here, which must be completed if you are interested in participating in any of these. We will contact you when we are actively recruiting for each task and, if you are no longer available or interested at that time, just let us know.
Look for a new Radon Reporter in your inbox later this month!
Improper Contracting for Multifamily Radon Services?
The association is now accepting reports of improper contracting for multifamily radon services. “Improper” is defined as radon projects where the solicited/contracted scope of work is in violation of an applicable state law or regulation or radon standard, such as testing less than 100% ground-contact units.
Two versions of the form are available:
Google form (posts to AARST staff automatically)
MS Word (download, fill out, and attach to an email to nationalpolicy@aarst.org)
2024 Indoor Environments Association
Membership Campaign
We want to help you save lives! As Indoor Environments Association, formerly known as AARST, is now expanding our commitment beyond radon to address chemical vapor intrusion and other contaminants of concern in the built environment, we want to introduce a membership campaign! Launching in the early months of 2024, our goal is to increase membership and the network of dedicated individuals who make our community so impactful and essential to saving lives.
Every day we strive to make a connection in our community. In a world where the importance of indoor air quality cannot be overstated, Indoor Environments Association’s membership campaign strives to provide a beacon of hope, inviting everyone to unite against the silent threat of radon and vapor intrusion and create a legacy of safety for generations to come. Together, let’s build a community dedicated to making every breath a healthy one by joining in membership!
Visit the Member Benefits page to JOIN
First NRPP Certification Cycle – To-Do List
Congrats on becoming NRPP certified! If this is your first year being certified, it’s important to start looking ahead at renewal requirements so that you’re ready when your two years is up! Read below for how to maintain your newly-earned certification in the first year:
- Start planning your continuing education
- Take a look at the catalog of NRPP-approved courses and find some that may interest you. RMP and RMS certifications require 12 CEs each; RMFT and RMI require 8 CEs each, and SGMI-CI certification requires 4 CEs.
- Complete your 4-hour mandatory standards review course
- This is a requirement for all individuals renewing, and if you hold multiple NRPP certifications, you will need to complete one MSR for each. These 4-hour courses can be applied towards the total CEs needed for your certification(s). CLICK to read more
The RMP and RMFT Exams are Live!
Thank you for your patience as we wrap up the development of the new RMP & RMFT exams. NRPP had an overwhelmingly positive response to the pilot-testing process and was able to wrap up testing by mid-December as planned. During the last few weeks of December NRPP evaluated the exam statistics, revised some of the questions, and set the passing scores for both exams. NRPP appreciates the feedback candidates provided and used this feedback to make improvements to the test and testing process.
Certiverse, our new remote proctoring partner, is administering the Measurement Professional and Measurement Field Technician exams and within the upcoming months, will also be proctoring the Mitigation Installer, Mitigation Specialist, and SGM-CI exams.
Secure exam delivery through Certiverse is accomplished through utilizing a secure exam browser that candidates must install before taking the test. This prevents test-takers from opening additional browsers or their email during the test, taking screen shots, and copying and pasting test content. Certiverse’s delivery platform allows candidates to comment on test questions as they move through the exam and all communication between candidates and proctors is done through chat, which allows for clearer communication during the exam session.
To register for an NRPP exam, click here.
Editorial Content Wanted: Indoor Environments Association (AARST) publishes content over two platforms. We are interested in radon and vapor intrusion interest stories, technical papers, business topics, health advancements/detection regarding radon-related issues, and more. Please submit content for consideration to editor@aarst.org.
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FREE ANSI/AARST Standards:
Member Benefit!
Indoor Environments Association provides members with free access to current and previous standards in both licensed PDF format and searchable Flipbook format. Association members can access these versions whenever logged in to the MY ACCOUNT section of the website at the Standards Library.
Members of the public continue to have free access to non-searchable flipbooks as well as to purchase PDF versions at standards.aarst.org
Earlier versions: Because some states have adopted a previous version of standards, these are also still available in Flipbooks and for purchase.
Events Calendar
Welcome to the Newest Members of the
Indoor Environments Association !
Jessica Phillips (NC), Lewis W Wertz (PA), Robert W Abram (CO)
Welcome to the Newest
NRPP-Certified Professionals!
Amber Berry (AR), Giuliano Cuete (MD), Jason L Wiersma (IL), Jermaine Thomas (CO), Joseph Czak (CO), Joseph Westen (IL), Kevin Seise (NJ), Lisa K Henderson (CA), Robert Luckey (IL), Scott Baker (CO), Spencer Glenn (GA), Timothy Mattingly (KY)
Indoor Environments Association is a nonprofit, professional organization of members who are dedicated to the highest standard of excellence and ethical performance of hazard identification and abatement of radon, chemical vapor intrusion, and other contaminants of concern in the built environment. The organization primarily strives to advance the interests of its members through developing industry standards, certifying technical proficiency, enabling advancement of public policy, and communicating health risks to the public. – Mission statement, February 2023