The Indoor Environments Association, formerly known as AARST, addresses radon, chemical vapor intrusion, and other contaminants of concern in the built environment.

Volume 17   •  No. 9 •  September 2024

News and Events for the Radon and Vapor Intrusion Industry

Free Smoking Cessation Program for Radon & Vapor Intrusion Professionals and Their Families

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The Indoor Environments Association is excited to announce the launch of a new campaign, which began August 1st, in partnership with the American Lung Association.

You can now access the Freedom From Smoking® Plus program for FREE, a $99.95 value! This digital quit smoking program helps you or your loved ones create a personalized quit plan and provides a full year of support with expert guidance and resources. This is available to all IEA members, radon and VI professionals, and their families. For more information and to sign up, CLICK HERE.

Public Review: MS-PC 2022 (Radon Test Device Quality) & MS-QA 2023 (Radon Testing Quality Assurance)

Consistent with plans relative to our continuous maintenance program, the latest publications of ANSI/AARST MS-PC and ANSI/AARST MS-QA are being published for public review.

MS-PC Performance Specifications for Instrumentation Systems Designed to Measure Radon Gas in Air

This standard specifies minimum performance criteria and testing procedures for instruments and/or systems designed to quantify the concentration of 222Rn gas in air.

MS-QA Radon Measurement Systems Quality Assurance

This standard of practice specifies minimum requirements for quality systems designed to quantify the concentration of 222Rn gas in air by qualified professionals and laboratories, whose data are intended to be used to determine the need for, or success of, radon mitigation.

To access content for public review, please CLICK HERE. Deadline for Comments is October 7th, 2024.

Join IEA & ALA for Lung Cancer Awareness Month Webcast

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and November 21st marks the annual Great American Smokeout Tobacco Awareness Holiday. Considering tobacco smoke and radon exposure are the two leading causes of lung cancer, and exposure to both heightens the probability of developing the disease, it is important to acknowledge the benefits of radon exposure risk reduction and the benefits of tobacco cessation, and to help link individuals with proven-effective strategies to eliminate both from impacting them and families across the U.S.

Join presenters from the American Lung Association and the Indoor Environments Association as they discuss the impact of radon-smoking synergy and explore proven-effective strategies, tips, and tricks to obtaining and maintaining a tobacco-free lifestyle for good. Register for the Radon-Smoking Synergy: Proven-Effective Strategies to Lower Your Risk for Lung Cancer webcast HERE.

IEA at National Conference of State Legislatures

Members and staff anchored the association’s Exhibit Hall booth at the NCSL Policy Summit in Louisville, KY August 5-7. The booth featured IEA’s Radon Report Card, enabling state legislators and legislative staffers from across the US to see how their state measures up in terms of risk and interventions. Several were photographed with Stop Radon fans (and some accepted this swag to help them cope with the 90+ degree heat outside of the convention center). Many engaged with IEA about the next best steps their legislatures could take in terms of policy making to protect their citizens from radon risk – and agreed to participate in follow up efforts. Many thanks to Crystal Lytle and Andrea Ash Stephens who joined National Policy Director Jane Malone in the exhibit hall.

Long Tran from Georgia (L) and Susan Almy from New Hampshire (R) show their support at the recent NCSL Policy Summit in Louisville, KY.

North Carolina Forms IEA Chapter

IEA members in North Carolina now have the option to get involved in the newly formed North Carolina Chapter of the IEA. On August 28th, the NC Chapter held a virtual meeting to launch the chapter. Discussion took place related to the chapter’s focus on regulation through certification in North Carolina in the future. The NC Chapter has an opportunity to attend an upcoming state regulatory hearing related to the radon industry in Raleigh on September 25th to show the chapter’s united front regarding intentions of pursuing regulatory compliance with the AARST standard/ EPA recommendations, as well as state-required certification, within the State of North Carolina. If you are interested in being involved in the NC Chapter and/or attending the upcoming hearing, please reach out to the President of the NC Chapter, Myca Bruno, at NCchapterIEA@gmail.com.

NRPP Update: Pilot Questions Being Added to Exams

NRPP will be adding pilot questions to its exams starting on October 1, 2024. Ten (10) pilot questions will be added to the Radon Measurement Field Technician (RMFT) and Radon Mitigation Installer (RMI) exams, increasing the total number of questions on each of those exams from 85 to 95. Fifteen (15) pilot questions will be added to the Radon Measurement Professional (RMP) and Radon Mitigation Specialist (RMS) exams, increasing the number of questions on those exams from 150 to 165.

Pilot questions are unscored questions, meaning the responses do not count for or against the test-takers’ exam scores. Adding pilot questions to the exams will allow NRPP to “try out” newly written questions to determine if they are fair and can be used in the future as scored questions. The goal is to expand the “bank” of solid, well-written questions that NRPP’s test developers can draw from to create new exams.

NRPP collects diagnostic information for each question and calculates statistics such as difficulty and discrimination. If a question doesn’t perform well – for example, if nobody gets it correct – it is either revised and pilot tested again or removed from the bank so it won’t be on an exam in the future. By knowing how questions perform before using them as scored questions, NRPP will enhance the quality of exams and help to ensure that the exams are fair and reliable indicators of the test-takers’ knowledge. The addition of 15 questions to the RMP and RMS exams is not expected to greatly lengthen testing time; currently, test-takers rarely use the full three hours and, on average, complete the RMP and RMS exams in 90 minutes or less.

Check this week’s circular for more Savings

New NRPP Compliance Policy – Coming Soon!

NRPP’s Compliance Office staff and Certification Council have been working on an expanded compliance policy to more clearly define how NRPP handles complaints.

Changes will include the following:
• More defined classes of violations and associated disciplinary actions
• Procedures to submit complaints against certification activities (certification policies & requirements)
• A clearly delineated appeals process
• A mechanism for state radon programs and other contractors to alert NRPP of any potential standards violations

The new policy will also include reporting of violations to state radon offices and public notification of more severe substantiated infractions.

NRPP certification identifies individuals who have met certification requirements and who have demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to measure and/or mitigate radon effectively, ensuring the public’s safety and protecting the public’s health and wellbeing. NRPP has a responsibility to identify those individuals who are not practicing safely or ethically, or who have violated the terms of their certification and/or ANSI/AARST Standards.

The goal of NRPP’s progressive disciplinary policy is, and will continue to be, to identify and correct behavior and to educate and nurture professional practice in alignment with professional requirements and standards of practice to prevent more serious issues from occurring. The NRPP Compliance Office handled over 12 complaints last year, some of which resulted in suspension or revocation of certification.

NRPP Certification Renewal Reminder…..

If you hold an NRPP radon measurement certification, use an analytical testing device, and have completed and passed a device performance test (DPT) at least once with that particular device, then you may be able to bypass the DPT process for your next renewal.

Many manufacturers of NRPP-approved devices have developed device-specific training courses, which can be taken in lieu of another performance test, saving you time and money on your certification renewal. To check whether your device has a specific course, CLICK HERE and scroll down to Device-Specific Training Courses.

PLEASE NOTE: Device training courses are only for certification renewals, not for initial certification / device registration. If you are adding on a new analytical device to your account at any time, a device performance test must first be completed and passed.

Chapter / Regional Meetings

JTA Development Experts Needed

In 2024 NRPP is building credentialing programs in the following areas and is seeking radon and vapor intrusion experts to help develop these credentials:

  • Radon Mitigation Specialist/Installer
  • Radon Measurement Professional/Field Technician
  • Commercial Mitigation Manager
  • Commercial Measurement Manager
  • Vapor Intrusion

We need your expert opinion to develop fair and valid certification programs that define safe and effective practice for measurement and mitigation professionals. Click for more information

Welcome to the Newest
Members of the
Indoor Environments Association!

Charles Thomas (TN), Chelsea Reid (TX), Cheyenne Neess (MN), Curry Jett Meier (CO), Heather Ferguson (TX), Heather Forrest (TX), Kerri Barrett (MI), Laura Mathys (CO), Mike A Giles (CO), Shane F Reitze (ME), Tony Byrd (GA)

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.

Welcome to the Newest
NRPP-Certified Professionals!

Aaron C West (PA), Alexandre R Paoli (KY), Anthony R Klepic (VA), Anthony Trimble (CA), Benjamin L Stromberg (IL), Branden R Maksimchuk (MI), Carina Y Rodriguez (CA), Christian Shiveley (MA), Darren P Meyer (KY), David A Fletcher (TN), David E Turner (CO), Deanna J Berchenbriter (IA), Eric A Thompson (TN), Erik R Eikey (MI), Gregory McDonald (CO), James Davis (KS), James Ryan (CA), Jarred Pond (ID), Jeremy L Freeze (WV), John P Cela (OH), Jonathan A Hansen (UT), Joseph K Reynolds (TN), Joshua O’Dell (IL), Keziah Jensen-Cannon (IN), Khary Cammock (TN), Linzy P Chrapkowski (CO), Logan E Girty (OK), Mariah Taavon (MA), Matthew A Fulmer (CO), Matthew Ingle (MI), Nathan C Wofford (CO), Patrick Geddes (RI), Paul Lotridge (MI), Paula N Brkich (IL), Rafael Colon Jr. (CT), Shane A Searles (KS), Shannon I Esser (CA), Shaun Kelso (MT), Timothy A Bienias (MN), Timothy G Brown (CO), Timothy P Schmitt (OR), Tristan B Jones (TX), Valerie Brodeur (AZ), Waldon Plett (KS), William B Shehorn (IN), Zachary D Schultz (MI)

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. 

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Education

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Get In Touch

AARST Administrative Office
527 N Justice Street
Hendersonville, NC  28739
info@aarst.org

(828) 348-0185

Copyright © 2023 AARST All Rights Reserved
Terms of Service & Privacy Statement

Join Our Awesome Community

As a member of the #1 association of soil gas professionals, you’ll receive access to great perks and discounts, and up-to-date news and information.

Membership

News

Certification

Education

Consumer

Get In Touch

AARST Administrative Office
527 N Justice Street
Hendersonville, NC  28739
info@aarst.org

(828) 348-0185

Copyright © 2023 AARST All Rights Reserved
Terms of Service & Privacy Statement