quickly recognized the risk to public health and
began a campaign to warn citizens. States were en-
couraged to discover the extent of the danger in
their areas. In 1986, Virginia surveyed eight hun-
dred homes, about 12 percent of which had danger-
ously high levels of radon.
The Radon Gas and Indoor Air Quality Research
Act of 1986 mandated the EPA to study radon and re-
port the findings to Congress. The act proposed the
establishment of a research program that merged
the efforts of the EPA with those of other public and
private groups. It advised the EPA to inform the pub-
lic about the dangers of radon.
After much investigation of the health hazard, on
September 12, 1988, the U.S. Public Health Service
and the EPA held a joint press conference to publi-
cize the problem, noting that millions of homes were
found with elevated levels and that radon causes
thousands of deaths each year. Assistant Surgeon
General Vernon Houk, also head of the Centers for
Disease Control, urged home owners to test for and
fix any radon problems. After that warning, there
was a huge surge in requests for radon testing.
The Indoor Radon Abatement Act of 1988 estab-
lished radon monitoring at schools, federal building
assessments, and several radon training centers; these
efforts were managed by the EPA. The regional cen-
ters educated people about health risks, how to mea-
sure for radon, and how to fix the problem. The cen-
ters trained the public, business firms, Realtors,
architects, inspectors, ventilation companies, and
government officials about indoor radon hazards in
the air and water in residences, workplaces, and
schools. The long-term goal of the act was to make
indoor air as free of radon as the air outside. The
EPA also started a large Indoor Radon Program dur-
ing the late 1980’s to offer grants to the states.Finding and Fixing Contamination Although radon
was not officially discovered until 1900 by German
chemist Friedrich Ernst Dorn, its effects were known
as far back as the Middle Ages, when miners were
known to live very short lives. The radioactive ele-
ment is a particular hazard for uranium miners. Ra-
don lurks in home areas that are not well ventilated. It
can come from uranium in the surrounding soil,
water, or even building materials such as brick or cin-
der block. Although the concrete in a basement slows792 Radon The Eighties in America
A billboard on the outskirts of Pruntytown, West Virginia, warns of the dangers of radon in the area.(Jim West)