Vol. 9 No. 5 May 2023
News and Events For the Industry
Indoor Environments™ 2023 –
Radon and Vapor Intrusion Symposium
Proposals and Abstracts Due May 31
The Call for Proposals and Abstracts for Indoor Environments™ 2023 – Radon and Vapor Intrusion Symposium Deadline is May 31. The 37th annual symposium will occur in Nashville, October 29 – November 1, 2023. Don’t delay, submit your proposals today!
HOW TO SUBMIT
Radon Funds for Housing Authorities
Housing Authorities for Huntsville, AL; Lake County, IL; East Chicago, IL; Topeka, KS: Bowling Green, KY; Metro Louisville, KY; Lee’s Summit, MO; Metropolitan Springfield, OH; Newport, TN; and Roanoke, VA have been funded under HUD’s Radon Testing and Mitigation Demonstration Program. Nearly $6 million was awarded nationally to protect children and families from radon exposure by testing public housing units and mitigating elevated radon levels.
“I am pleased to announce that these grants will provide public housing agencies with the resources to reduce the radon exposure risk of over 6,500 individuals, families and children,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge.
AARST Members sign in to your account to get your discount
CO Will Protect Buyers and Tenants
The Colorado Legislature passed the Rocky Mountain Chapter’s proposal to alert prospective buyers and tenants about radon risk. Senate bill 23-206 passed the Senate April 14 by a vote of 23-9, then passed the House 51-11 on April 21. Governor Jared Polis will sign the bill in the days ahead. The bill requires the seller or landlord of residential real estate to provide to prospective buyers and tenants in writing: a warning statement about the dangers of radon and the need for testing; any knowledge the seller or landlord has of the residential real property’s radon concentrations and history, including tests performed, reports written, and mitigation conducted; and a copy of the most recent brochure published by the CO Department of Public Health and Environment that provides advice about radon in real estate transactions.
Rocky Mountain AARST provided key leadership in developing and advocating for the bill – with key support from its lobbyist Michael Best Strategies, lung cancer survivor Joanie Ryan, the American Lung Association, the White Ribbon Project, and others.
From the CO state capitol in Denver April 21, pictured above, L-R: Representative Dafna Michaelson-Jenet, Representative Emily Sirota, Nick Torres (ALA), Joanie Ryan (Ms. Colorado Senior America and lung cancer survivor), Terry Kerwin (RM AARST), Bryan Coy (RM AARST), and Representative Tammy Story.
Nominations Open for AARST Board
The AARST Board election will be conducted during October with results announced at the Annual Meeting October 31 in Nashville. Positions open for election in 2023, for service beginning November 2023, are Nationally Elected Directors (five), President-Elect, Vice-President (1), Secretary and Treasurer.
Nominees for the Nationally Elected Board need to be members in good standing of the Association. No more than two Directors and no more than one Officer from a single company or organization of common ownership or other closely related companies may serve.
Interested members should contact nominations@aarst.org or submit AARST Board Member Nominating Profile form no later than June 30. For more information please see this blog post and the AARST SOP Nominations and Elections.
Openings on the Certification Council:
The Certification Council establishes credentialing criteria and complaint evaluation, decertification, and reciprocity policies for the National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP). It consists of stakeholders representing a cross-section of industry segments.
Applications for vacant seats representing Home Inspectors and Radon Measurement in Large Buildings are due Friday, May 12. Applications for the following seats, which will become vacant due to term limits November 1, are due Thursday, August 31: Radon Mitigation – Residential; Radon Chambers; Consumer Interests; Radon Measurement – Residential; and Non-licensing/certifying States.
Potential applicants are encouraged to review the qualifications. Applications should be submitted using THIS FORM.
NRPP is ANAB-Accredited
under ISO 17024
AARST’s New Director of Proficiency
Amy Roedl joined AARST on April 26 as the Director of Proficiency. She has been a part of the credentialing industry for over 20 years and has helped professional credentialing organizations create, maintain, or improve their programs and prepare for and gain accreditation. She has served as a psychometric assessor for the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), assessing certifying bodies’ compliance to ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, General requirements for bodies offering certification of persons for accreditation of personnel certification programs.
Amy is excited to join AARST and is looking forward to supporting NRPP’s current certification programs and developing new credentials for radon and vapor intrusion professionals and others. She said, “As an accredited certification body, NRPP is aligned with standards and best practices in credentialing and embraces fair and impartial practices. It’s an honor to be a part of such a program.” [Her surname is pronounced RAY-duhl]
Upcoming Events
Chapters and Regions are planning meetings! Save the dates:
EPA Region 4 – May 22 C.E. Event, Nashville, TN
EPA Region 4 – May 23 Stakeholder Meeting, Nashville, TN
NEAARST Chapter – Jun. 8-9, Meeting/C.E., Portsmouth, NH
OARP Chapter – April 27, C.E. Virtual
OARP – Jun. 28, Annual Radon Awareness Golf Outing, Sunbury, OH
Other Events:
Webinar: Radon Resistant Building Codes, May 16, 2PM ET, Zoom
Webinar: Current US Radon Standards, May 31, 2PM ET, Zoom
Indoor Environments 2023, Oct. 29 – Nov. 1, Nashville, TN
In its April 14 comment, AARST commended HUD for its decision to formally recognize the need for a department-wide radon policy and acknowledge that properties used in HUD programs must be evaluated for radon to ensure that occupant health and safety are not adversely affected.
AARST also noted that the proposed policy falls short of addressing the disparate treatment of HUD customers that prompted the HUD Inspector General report and is “neither consistent nor sufficient.”
Unlike HUD multifamily lending, the department-wide policy would not require the use of qualified radon professionals or adherence to current consensus standards, contradicting HUD’s environmental regulation at 24 CFR 58.5(i)(2)(iv): “the responsible entity shall use current techniques by qualified professionals to undertake investigations determined necessary.” The policy would also allow consulting radon maps as a substitute for conducting radon tests. The AARST comment addresses these issues.
EPA’s Proposed Credentialing Criteria
EPA continues to accept comments on its Proposed Radon Credentialing Criteria to help align and ensure consistency across credentialing programs operated by certification programs (such as NRPP) and states, based on standards, organizational and program-specific competencies, and third-party accreditation to ISO 17024. To be implemented over three years, the proposed framework could harmonize practices and policies and expand consumer trust and confidence in the radon service provider industry.
Now Available: Recording of EPA’s April 12th information session.
Comments are being accepted by EPA through May 22. AARST supports EPA’s proposed approach to require (1) credentials and exams by a credentialing body accredited under ISO 17024 and (2) voluntary consensus standards developed and maintained in accordance with ANSI requirements for openness, balance, consensus, and due process.
Exhibitors! Open Booth Selection May 22nd! Indoor Environments™ 2023
Open Booth Selection begins May 22nd – get ready!
The Exhibitor/Sponsor Prospectus is available for Indoor Environments™ 2023 – Radon and Vapor Intrusion Symposium
Attention: States, Tribes & Territories
There will be a concurrent track at the AARST Symposium from October 29th – November 1st, 2023 for states, tribes, and territories. This replaces the event formerly known as CRCPD National Training Meeting. This track will be 20 hours of radon-specific presentations for states, tribes, and territories at the Nashville symposium – full days Monday and Tuesday and a half day on Wednesday.
BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM Through the Symposium Room Block
Tribal Air Resources Journal,
Volume 14
We, the Tribes of EPA Region 5 (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan), would like to share with you the 2022 Edition of the Tribal Air Resources Journal, Volume 14. The Tribes in Region 5 have compiled this Journal since 2008 to promote our air achievements and successes, and share obstacles and setbacks encountered in their Tribal communities and air resources. DOWNLOAD REPORT
NASHVILLE SYMPOSIUM HOTEL ROOM BLOCK IS NOW OPEN!
Join AARST in Nashville for Indoor Environments 2023. Book your discounted room at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel today. BOOK HERE
Member Benefit
NRPP is ANAB-Accredited
under ISO 17024
Welcome to Our Newest
AARST Members!
Aaron Alumbaugh (IL), Ashwin Ashok (GA), Chance Emanuels (IL), Craig Burden (ID), Derek Dobyns (IL), Douglass Held (IL), Dr Meera Neb (TX), Dyllan Rose (OH), Jason L Sylvester (WV), Jeff O’Shea (IL), Josh Badman (IL), Julie Niehaus (IL), Kris Stahl (MN), Laura Weigle (IL), Ruth D Alfasso (MA), Westin Brawley (CO)
Editorial Content Wanted: AARST publishes content over two platforms. We are interested in radon and vapor intrusion interest stories, technical papers, business topics, health advancements/detection in regard to radon-related issues, and more. Please submit content for consideration to editor@aarst.org.
Welcome to Our Newest
NRPP Certified Professionals!
Aaron Neperud (MN), Alana Pecorelli (NY), Andrew K Larson (CO), Andrew Thompson (KS), Breanna Phan (CA), Brooklynn A Marcus (CA), Christienne Te (TX), David Beadles (MO), David Fierro (NY), Destiny Johnson (CA), Devin McDowell (MO), Elizabeth I Meler (OH), Ellie Sovcik (IL), Eric Burgess (ME), Ginger Barrett (TN), Jacob M McGee (CO), James Evans (WI), James Horner (OH), Jermaine Scott (CO), John M Zwahlen (CO), Justin Jackson (AK), Justin Kehoe (CO), Justin Powell (FL), Kaitlyn Hval (CO), Katie Scherr (CA), KAYLEE MOORE (IN), Keith P Phillips (TN), Madalynne M Bridge (WI), Madison C Wieczorek (MN), Meaghan DeCorso (NJ), Melanie Miranda (CT), Melissa Marte (NJ), Mitchell Cornell (IL), Nathan Stone (MN), Nicholas Naso (NH), Olivia Hubble (MA), Patrick D Jewett (MA), Ramiro Vejar (CA), Ryan P Geneser (IL), Samantha K Holcombe (VA), Samuel Prather (IN), Scott Gunter (NV), Taylor C Wood (TX), Timothy L Burns (CO), Warren T Kutcher (PA), Westin Brawley (CO), William R Luttrull (IN), Zachary D Rygh (VA)
AARST 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. – Revised mission statement, February 2023
HUD Policy