PRINTER'S NO. 473
No. 16 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY O'PAKE, ROSS, LINCOLN, STOUT, REGOLI, REIBMAN,
PORTERFIELD, BELAN, MUSTO, STAPLETON, SHUMAKER, CORMAN,
ANDREZESKI, MELLOW, SALVATORE, LYNCH, AFFLERBACH AND DAWIDA,
FEBRUARY 7, 1989
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, FEBRUARY 7, 1989
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Directing the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control
2 and Conservation Committee to study problems relating to
3 radon testing.
4 WHEREAS, Homeowners, victimized by the threat to their
5 families' health and well-being by the presence of radon, are
6 being victimized again by the uncertainty presented by widely
7 diverse and conflicting results of expensive radon tests; and
8 WHEREAS, Radon is an odorless, colorless, naturally occurring
9 gas resulting from the breakdown and decay of uranium in granite
10 and shale, seeping through cracks and fissures in the earth's
11 crust; and
12 WHEREAS, Radon enters homes through joints, seams or any
13 opening, only to collect where there is poor or no ventilation.
14 The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized radon gas as
15 the number one indoor pollutant and recommends nationwide
16 testing of all homes for the presence of this gas; and
17 WHEREAS, Radon has been linked as a cause of lung cancer; the
1 Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon may cause
2 20,000 deaths per year in the United States, becoming the second
3 leading cause of lung cancer death in the Nation. Radon gas
4 poses the potential to be a health threat to millions of
5 Americans; and
6 WHEREAS, Responding to attempts by individuals to prey upon
7 the public by purporting to test homes for radon gas using
8 unsound and fraudulent methods, the General Assembly enacted a
9 law requiring the Department of Environmental Resources to
10 develop regulations for the certification of all companies or
11 individuals testing homes or businesses for radon gas; and
12 WHEREAS, Subsequently published reports indicate a wide range
13 of test readings where those tests were conducted in a radon-
14 contaminated home at the same time in the same area by companies
15 certified as qualified to test for the accumulation of radon;
16 therefore be it
17 RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the
18 General Assembly direct the Joint Legislative Air and Water
19 Pollution Control and Conservation Committee to study the
20 problem of radon testing within this Commonwealth to determine
21 the sufficiency and accuracy of the testing procedures; and be
22 it further
23 RESOLVED, That the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution
24 Control and Conservation Committee be directed to study the
25 certification procedures developed by the Department of
26 Environmental Resources to determine the adequacy and
27 sufficiency of the certification process; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution
29 Control and Conservation Committee study the technology
30 available to measure the presence of radon gas and determine
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1 whether sufficient technology is available to accurately and
2 adequately advise citizens of this Commonwealth as to the
3 existence of the gas and the need for remediation; and be it
4 further
5 RESOLVED, That a special task force, consisting of three
6 members of the Senate, appointed by the President pro tempore,
7 and three members of the House of Representatives, appointed by
8 the Speaker, be established to assist the Joint Legislative Air
9 and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee in the
10 conduct of its study; and be it further
11 RESOLVED, That the Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution
12 Control and Conservation Committee report its findings and
13 recommendations, together with any proposed legislation, to the
14 General Assembly as soon as possible.
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