Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
requires laboratories providing radon analytical services to meet specific
proficiency requirements and be accredited. Radon professionals who pro-
vide either testing or mitigation services must also meet minimum training
requirements and be accredited to provide services. In most states, they must
be licensed as well.
IV. Nonregulatory approaches
A variety of nonregulatory principles and concepts have been used over the
past two decades in response to various IAQ/IE problems and concerns.
These include development and publication of consensus health guidelines
by state and federal government agencies, world bodies, and professional
organizations; development and publication of ventilation guidelines by
professional organizations and, in some cases, governments; development
and publication of performance guidelines for the operation of building
systems and for other building environmental quality concerns; voluntary
initiatives directed to selected industries and potential IE problems; devel-
opment of public information and education programs; and civil litigation.
A. Health guidelines
An alternative to using AQSs to achieve and maintain acceptable IE quality
is to use health guidelines developed by government agencies, world bodies
such as the World Health Organization (WHO), or professional groups such
as ASHRAE. Health guidelines do not have regulatory standing. As such,
compliance is voluntary. Their development and publication is, in most
instances, less cumbersome than regulatory standard-setting processes. They
are, in the main, less subject to the political and economic compromises
common to standard setting. As such, they have the potential to better reflect
true health risks and public health protection needs.
Though not enforceable, guideline values for contaminant levels have
considerable value. They have the power of scientific consensus and, in the
case of WHO- and government-published guidelines, convey a sense that
contaminant levels above the guideline are unsafe (and that levels below the
guideline are safe). This is particularly the case for the USEPA-recommended
guideline level for indoor radon. That guideline value of 4 pCi/L annual
average concentration is used (and misused) by home and other building
owners as a reference value in interpreting results of radon testing and deter-
mining the need for remedial measures. It was adopted in the late 1970s based
on research work associated with uranium mill tailings and open-pit phosphate
mining spoils. It reflected (1) a need to provide reasonable health protection
and (2) the practical limits of mitigation measures applied to houses with high
radon levels (>200 pCi/L). Guideline values for radon in dwellings recom-
mended by other countries and organizations are summarized in
Table 13.3
.
Guidelines may also affect manufacturing decisions. Though corpora-
tions may not agree that a guideline value is necessary, or believe that it is
