HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/18/2017 - Radon Mitigation - Air Quality Advisory Board
Environmental Services
215 N. Mason
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80521
970.221-6600
fcgov.com/environmentalservices
MEMORANDUM
Date: April 18, 2017
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Mark Houdashelt, AQAB Chair
CC: Air Quality Advisory Board
Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Re: AQAB Recommendation Related to Radon Mitigation
___________________________________________________________________________________
The full Air Quality Advisory Board has been considering the following recommendation related to
radon mitigation for several months, as this is a high priority for the Board. A quorum of the Board
discussed and supported this recommendation at the March 2017 AQAB meeting, and this
recommendation was approved unanimously by members in April 2017, although a quorum was not
present.
In response to Board member concerns, the Air Quality Advisory Board (AQAB) has examined the
current City of Fort Collins requirements and programs for radon measurement and mitigation,
including:
Selling short‐term and long‐term radon testing kits;
Providing radon testing through the Healthy Homes program;
Providing zero‐interest loans (up to $3000) for radon mitigation systems;
Requiring passive radon mitigation systems in new single‐family and duplex residences; and
Requiring that sellers of residential buildings provide the purchasers with a pamphlet
describing the dangers of radon and options for mitigation.
The AQAB feels that the City should be doing more to ensure that its residents are not exposed to
dangerous levels of radon, given that:
Fort Collins lies in a region with very high radon levels;
Nationally, radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking);
An average of 65% of homes tested in Fort Collins have radon levels higher than the 4 pCi/L
level at which the EPA recommends mitigation;
Only 50% of Fort Collins residents whose homes test high for radon choose to mitigate;
One in four families in Fort Collins includes a family member with respiratory problems; and
Current efforts to educate citizens (especially renters) about radon seem to be inadequate to
significantly reduce exposure.
At this time, the AQAB does not have sufficient information to recommend the most effective actions
that City Council could take to further address this issue, so the Board recommends that Council
direct City Staff to develop a mid‐cycle budget offer for 2017 that would fund the research and other
activities required to develop a more robust radon action plan for Fort Collins. The Board
recommends that this offer include Staff time, , as well as the formation of a working group to assist
the City in assessing the options, costs, and benefits of potential new policies and programs that
would increase radon mitigation and reduce its health impacts on the population. This working group
should include health professionals, radon experts, building contractors, property owners (of
business, rental, and owner‐occupied buildings), and other interested/affected parties. Part of this
effort should be a very basic estimate of the health risk to Fort Collins residents of exposure to the
average radon level in the City, as the Board has estimated that the number of mitigations required
to save a life could be as low as 40.
The AQAB feels that this work should begin as soon as possible. Both the AQAB and CDPHE are
prepared to assist in this effort in any way that Staff or Council would find helpful.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Mark Houdashelt, AQAB Chair