Public Health providing free radon seminar to encourage radon testing
El Paso County, CO (January 3, 2012) — In an effort to raise awareness and encourage people to check the radon levels in their homes, El Paso County Public Health has organized a free radon seminar for the public. All homes regardless of construction type, such as slab on grade, basement, or crawl space, or style, such as colonial, raised ranch, or condominium can have elevated radon levels.
This Radon Awareness Seminar is free to the public and will be held Thursday, Jan. 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Citizens Service Center located at 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
This event will offer a video presentation, “Radon: The Invisible Killer,” and a question and answer session with a panel of experts that will give people who are seeking to buy a home, as well as homeowners, builders, and realtors an opportunity to learn more about radon and how to test for and mitigate potential radon exposure in homes. People who attend this seminar will receive a voucher for a free radon test kit.
Panelists will include: Dr. James Burkhart, professor and chair of physics, and associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; Douglas Kladder, director of the Center for Environmental Research and Technology; and Doug Barber, a licensed Realtor, president and broker of The Rawhide Company. Information from radon mitigation companies will also be available.
Radon is an invisible, odorless, tasteless, radioactive gas that results from the natural breakdown of uranium found in soils, rock, and water. Radon in Colorado is generated by the radioactive decay of radium, which is present in uranium bearing soils found throughout the Rocky Mountains and the eastern plains.
“It is important to get your home tested to know if there are elevated levels. As part of this seminar, we want to educate people about how easy it is to mitigate elevated radon levels, so a homeowner can protect their health if they find out through testing their home that there are elevated radon levels,” said Tom Gonzales, M.P.H., R.E.H.S., director of El Paso County Public Health’s environmental health division.
During the years 2005-2010, 8,729 El Paso County home radon test results were submitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Of those, 4,050 homes (46 percent) tested at four or more picocuries per liter (4pCi/L). Exposure to 4pCi/L or more of radon is associated with high risk of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association.
For more information call (719) 578-3199 or visit www.elpasocountyhealth.org.
About the speakers:
Dr. James Burkhart received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Because of his previous Air Force experience in the atmospheric nuclear tests, he concentrated his teaching and lab work in radiation physics, starting a radon measurement lab at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1986. The radon lab has conducted approximately 70,000 radon tests since then, mainly in the Colorado Springs area. Burkhart is a professor and chair of physics; an associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at UCCS; the director of the Western Regional Radon Training Center (established by the U.S. EPA), and director of Radon Measurements Lab. He is known internationally as a researcher in radon physics and is currently conducting a case-control study looking for a possible correlation between radon exposure and thyroid cancer in El Paso County.
Douglas Kladder is director of the Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERTI). He holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, and has been intimately involved with the development of radon measurement and mitigation technology since 1984. In his role as director of CERTI, he and the CERTI team provide radon training for individuals wishing to become qualified in radon technology throughout the United States as well as Canada and the Pacific Rim. Kladder’s extensive experience in the radon industry includes a balance of public and private sector perspectives.
Doug Barber has been a licensed real estate practitioner and REALTOR® in Colorado since 1975 when he joined the sales staff of The Rawhide Company, REALTORS®. He is presently president and broker of that company. Barber holds a degree in real estate and construction management from the University of Denver. Barber is currently a director of the National Association of REALTORS®, where he has served on the Risk Management and Professional Standards committees. Barber is a licensed general contractor and owner of Rawhide Homes, Inc.
