Radon bill draws fire
By Chris Walker (Contact)
Originally published 02:03 p.m., February 1, 2008
Updated 02:03 p.m., February 1, 2008
Sen. Jim Barnett plans to introduce legislation to have all homes tested for radon before they are sold. News of this proposal has some Emporia realtors swearing mad.
“There are some alarming radon statistics in Kansas,” Barnett said. “Radon causes more cancer deaths in Kansas than second-hand smoke, with the number estimated around 200 deaths per year. Many counties, including part of Lyon County, have high levels, so it is a significant risk.”
He said the idea for this legislation came from an Emporia family.
“I was contacted by a family to look into radon when they had a family member die of lung cancer,” Barnett said. “The person had spent many hours in her basement quilting. She was a non-smoker that died of lung cancer.”
The proposed legislation will have three parts:
• Information about radon will be required during the home sales process.
• People who inspect for radon will need to be licensed and certified.
• All homes will be tested for radon before they are sold.
Emporia Realtors said they are waiting for more information about the bill, but their initial reaction was not favorable.
They said they don’t see the need for new legislation because, historically, Emporia homes have never tested high for levels of radon.
“This is the biggest (expletive) waste of time in America,” Maurice Schmidt of Ek Real Estate said about Barnett’s proposal.
“When the Santa Fe Railroad left in the 80’s, Prudential Relocation handled the buy-out of all those houses and they required radon tests for those houses. We found only two houses that had minor levels,” Schmidt said.
Don Eusey of Prudential Real Estate said in his 13 years as a Realtor he has only seen a few positive tests for radon in the Emporia area.
Jerry Olmsted of Farm and Home Real Estate also said he thought radon was not much of a problem around here compared to the east coast.
The Realtors say Barnett’s legislation is unnecessary because homebuyers are already educated on radon during the buying process and are given the option of having radon tests done.
Realtors said they also worry about the costs homeowners would incur if radon inspections were made mandatory.
“We can test, test, test and all we are doing is adding another $500 to the cost of buying a house, which the homeowners will have to pay.” Schmidt said.
Eusey, who is the president of the Emporia Board of Realtors, said the group has not discussed the issue or taken a position on Barnett’s legislation.
Eusey said any lobbying efforts to block the bill would be made by the Kansas Association of Realtors.
Representatives of EK Real Estate, Remax, Farm & Home and Prudential Real Estate said that Barnett had not contacted them to discuss the radon legislation.
Comments
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Posted by bobhornet (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Barnett is such an idiot--but as long as the people of Emporia keep electing him to office, he'll keep tilting at windmills. He's the biggest fool in the state senate--and that's saying something in this state!
Posted by abc123 (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
SERIOUSLY??? Our State and Country for that matter has so much more important issues! Quit wasting our time and money on this foolishness. Attack some real issues like adequate health care coverage and prescription drug costs. Talk about deadly, I would like to see comparison data on what kills more people each year.....Radon gas or lack of health care and affordable prescriptions! Get real people.....glad I didn't vote for that joker.
Posted by xyz123 (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
For the negative posts about the bill....I know the family they are talking about. How terrible to watch a loved one died OR to be the one sick on something that can be so easy to prevent & CORRECT. If she only spent a few hours a day in the basement, think of kids & adults that SLEEP in the basement. I was told that you can purchase a kit from the county extension office for @ $15- $20 at kit. Test rooms with subpumps because that will be the worse spot for the gases to come in at. I don't know where the whole $500 comes into play per Mr Schmidt - maybe he's getting a little cut off it- you think? Plus we complain about rising health care to our law makers all the time - at least they are trying to get a little pro-active on helping prevent higher costs. I hope that you folks don't have to endure what this family went thru. They are wanting people to be aware of the silent killer this is.
Posted by quarterback (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 4:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am sorry about the family that lost a loved one. But to make a state law the issues needs to impact a tremendous amount of people in the state. 200 people a year is not enough to warrent a new law.
As the article says during the home selling process people are educated about radon and have the option of getting a test done.
It should be a buyer issue not mandate by the state. The government needs to keep out.
Posted by gazette_reader (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
xyz123, according to the article, if the bill passed, the home test kit would not be acceptable. The bill requires that the home is tested by someone licensed and certified. It would create an entire industry of people getting certified to run those $20 tests - and you can bet that it will cost the homeowner a lot more than that.
I feel badly for the family cited. But I don't think that this is the right answer.
Posted by hottopics (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 7:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Offer the $20 kit to Home Buyers. They can take it or leave it. I think they are much more worth issues that need attention than this one.
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 10:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jim Barnett truly cares about people, and how can one argue with that? It pains me to read some of these posts when I know that he is acting out of a genuine concern. Rather than attack this good man, I would suggest contacting him with your concerns. He is a reasonable and fair minded person and, when given evidence, will weigh it accordingly. Sometimes we are very quick to throw stones either out of partisanship or anger, and, unfortunately, sometimes out of ignorance. This Bill does sound as if it would bring more negatives than positives, but I bet that there is a way to work this out if approached in a reasonable way. Attacking Jim Barnett is just not fair; talk to him instead. He'll listen.
Posted by emporian (anonymous) on February 1, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Barnett is a toad. Look at his voting record. He was all for a bill that would have crippled workers comp.
He is really reaching for this one. More people are killed by drunk drivers in this state than radon gets nationwide. How bout some stiffer penalties so those clowns dont get chances to receive 3-4 DUIs before we do something. What about making sure child predators are being put behind bars? If I am worried about Radon I will have it tested myself. Yeah, Barnett really cares....about himself
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 12:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Test kits can be bought at the County Extension Office for $5.00, not $500.
Radon levels above 4pCi/L(picocuries of radon per liter) require mitigation reactions to prevent respiratory illnesses and the high risk of contracting lung cancer according to the Surgeon General of the US. In the State of Kansas, 12% or about 200 people a year are known to contract radon induced lung cancer because their homes were tested after diagnosis. The other lung cancer victims may or may not have had the test done, meaning the totals could be much higher if the other homes had actually been tested. My aunt who lived in Leavenworth Co. died of lung cancer last year, she never smoked, and they did not test their home for radon. They have since sold the house, hopefully the next tenants do not contract lung cancer.
The victim's home mentioned in this article, tested 24.7pCi/L, 6x's over the suggested action level. The home is located in Eastern Emporia. Their daughter's home in Americus tested 11 pCi/L. The mitigation action taken at both homes, initial testing, the equipment and installation, labor and all cost $1500 for each house. Cracks were sealed along the basement floor and walls, a manufactured sealed cover was installed over the sump pump opening, pvc piping was ran from the sump pump well into the garage attic and hooked into a fan. Then from the fan, a pipe was run out thru the roof like a sewer vent pipe. The fan creates a vacuum on the pipe which pulls the radon gas out from under the foundation of the home and vents it out into the atmosphere. Both homes now test well below 4pCi/L. I don't need to tell you how much was spent on medical bills for the diagnosis, chemo, radiation, surgery, hospital stays and lets not forget to mention the loss of a loved one's life, funeral etc. How much is your family's life worth?
How many other homes in Emporia are currently poisoning their owners and their children's lungs right now? Do you really want to make one of the biggest investments of your life then put your family at risk of contracting lung cancer because your realtor can't be bothered with such a trivial matter that might delay a sale until the home can made safe from a very preventable cancer?
Punch radon gas into your favorite search engine and do a little research for yourself. Mr Schmidt is only worried about sales commission delays instead of human life.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 12:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Radon Facts. 21000 people die each year of radon induced lung cancer in the US according to the EPA. There is only a 15% survival rate of five years once someone has been diagnosed with lung cancer according to the Lung Cancer Alliance. 162,000 people each year are diagnosed with lung cancer and that it kills more Americans than colon, prostate, breast, kidney and liver cancer combined. 60% of new lung cancer patients have never smoked or had quit smoking decades ago. Living with radon levels of 21 pCi/L is equivalent to smoking 48 cigarettes a day.
Perhaps instead of taxing the snot out of tobacco, pushing for smoking bans statewide, etc, we should direct our attention to what we are breathing at home first?
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 12:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
gazette_reader- You are putting too much faith in the Gazette report being factual. As usual, they looked for the controversy angle instead of reporting all of the facts. Perhaps they could have included interviews with people who actually know something about radon gas levels and it's history in Kansas.(Gazette- try Kim Steves of KDHE in Topeka)
Sen. Barnett and the KDHE prefer that the citizens of Kansas be protected against con artists and dishonest businesses that might try to sell people bogus test kits and install ineffective mitigation devices. The licensing and certified stipulation in the bill would weed out the crooks by forcing contractors doing this kind of work to be accountable, know what they are doing. It would not mandate that individual home owners would have to hire cerified and licensed mitigation services nor force you to use a specific test method. You would still be able to use the cheaper test methods, and take mitigation action in your own home.
Posted by abc123 (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Creating awareness of Radon and it's dangers is an excellent idea, even having a national Radon testing day or Awareness month....I'm all for it, but once you involve the govm't in home buying and requiring inspections it just opens a flood gate as gazette_reader stated....an entire industry for these inspections. Also in no way did I intend to offend the family or friends who lost their loved one. My earlier post was vented frustration over growing expenses for todays homeowners along with frustrations over politicians getting off base and just taking on an entirely new fronteir when we have so many loose ends already. And obviously as jayhawker said partisanship does have something to do with it. :)
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The victims were sold the house they live in recent years. Perhaps if the testing and mitigation had been done at the time they purchased the home, then maybe she would still be with us. Lead paint and termite inspections have to be done now before home sales can be completed. You MIGHT have problems from lead paint if you ingest it. I've never known a termite to kill a human. Both items are required before Banks will close a mortgage. The lead paint only becomes an issue if your home was built prior to 1979. Neither of these inspections threaten human life at the scale that Radon gas does.
Posted by Penny (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I bought a home in Emporia a year ago and my realtor never mentioned Radon gas. The home I bought prior to that (in a nearby small community) never got a mention either. The realtor's goal is to make a sale, they only do or say the stuff that is required and the stuff that is likely to make a sale. I think I'll go get one of those $5.00 kits.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on February 2, 2008 at 4:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good Penny, that is exactly what the victim of the Emporia radon incident wanted, public awareness, and public involvement/action to prevent others from suffering the pain she suffered. Please encourage your family and friends to do the same.
Posted by professorair (anonymous) on February 3, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am shocked by the quote attributed to a real estate "professional" that it costs $500 to test for radon. This is a outright misrepresentation and most certainly does not reflect the type of person I would want to help me either buy or sell my home. I am also deeply concerned by those who trivalize the risk of radon in the home. Radon in homes kills 5 times as many people compared to residential fires and 70 times as many as accidential carbon monoxide deaths in homes. Congratulates to Sen. Jim Barnett for his foresight in introducing this bill. Keep up the good work and don't bak down to those who are uniformed.
Posted by johncanyon (anonymous) on February 4, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
@quarterback...If one of those 200 people a year was a member of YOUR family, would it warrant your concern with this killer then? Would it be worth a $500 investment to save there life?
How many people need to die from Radon to make it worth your time? 500? 1000? 5000?.....
Even if this bill passes and it does cost $500 to have the house inspected. What is another $500 on a $50,000 - $100,000 investment on a house. If you figure that into a $100,000, 30 year loan on a home, it figures out to be about $1.50 extra a month, on top of a $500 - $1000 a month house payment.
Posted by emporialifer (anonymous) on February 4, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I find it interesting that people do not want government involved in this, yet they want the government to handle health care or at least provide it for everyone. Gee let's see - spend $50 now to test for radon or wait several years and how much will you spend on the Dr. visits, treatments, etc. for cancer? Sen. Barnett is trying to do something good here and I can't believe the number of people attacking him personally. What have you done lately to try to save anyone's life? Look at the big picture here - I think everyone is worried about the few extra $'s it might cost to test, rather than seeing the big picture that it could save someone's life. So tell me - for all of you who oppose it - how much are your family members' lives worth or how much is your life worth? We only get one go around at this life, so is it worth a little money for a test?
I'm glad I read this article - I'd never been educated about radon before, but I think I'll be buying a testing kit. I also agree with neighbor - shame on the gazette for only quoting people whose opinions are based on how this will affect their salaries/home sales instead of going to EXPERTS in the area for actual facts.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on February 4, 2008 at 8:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Glad to hear your getting the test emporialifer. Please ask your friends, family, and neighbors to do the same. We want everyone to know what radon is, and how easy it is to prevent serious life threatening exposure to it.
Posted by kansas_jayhawk (anonymous) on February 4, 2008 at 11:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you want to debate whether the government should mandate "testing for radon" on a real estate transaction that's one thing. But to take "objective comments" about radon from real estate agents is like asking the "wolf" if he would like to escort "Lil Red Riding Hood" to Grandma's house! You will RARELY meet a real estate agent that makes recommending a test for it a regular part of representing a client. That's because about the only thing they ultimately care about is the "sale". The Surgeon General has recently given the exact same sort of "health advisory" about radon that was given and has been printed on cigarette packs for 35+ years.....that they "may be hazardous to your health". They didn't MANDATE that you stop smoking! (Good thing since many real estate agents still smoke!) I personally think that all Congressman Barnett is requesting is that we bring "public awareness" about the "potential" for health problems from long term exposure to radon to the forefront. You don't KNOW you have a problem unless you test! How can agents (in good conscience) recommend that a client get the home they are buying "tested" when I honestly don't think that most real estate agents have even tested THEIR homes for radon because they have been told by "associates" that radon isn't a “problem” in our area. The EPA says any house can have it.
Why is it that you have to have a "termite letter" to sell a house but you don't have to have a radon test? The last time I checked, I don't recall termites having the potential to kill you! You get more radiation from radon that you do from 1,000 dental x-rays!
Get educated about radon!
Radon and Real estate
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/realestate....
New construction…
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/construc.ht...
Who is qualified to test and mitigate?
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/radontest.h...
"Breathing Easy"
http://gotradon.com/breathingeasy.mpg
CBS Chicago affiliate video on radon
http://cbs2chicago.com/health/2.316803.h...
On this site...click on......
"A Drop In the Bucket"
"The Julia Harris Story"
http://www.aces.edu/department/family/ra...
Posted by CAFEmporia (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 12:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I disagree with the current theory that radon gas is actually so dangerous as the EPA or the AMA say. In Europe, insurance plans provide treatment at radon mine spas in several countries based upon studies which have proven radon to be useful in the treatment of arthritis and rheumatoid problems. Here in the US, radon mines in Montana are used by thousands of people as an alternative health treatment. I go twice a year, myself. The radon in the mines, at about 400 pCi/L, is over a hundred times more concentrated than levels considered dangerous here.
Many people I have met and spend time with in those mines have been going annually for decades. Communities of Mennonites travel there from all over as a regular health treatment, and to good effect. For me, it means having no migraines for about six months after spending a ten day regimen there. Everyone who has arthritis benefits, including aging pets.
I feel sympathy for the people who believe they have been sickened by radon gas but I am not convinced that is the reason for their illnesses.
Creating laws without full agreement about the nature of the effects of radon by the scientific community creates the potential for civil litigation and liabilities which may be inappropriate. The radon bill is ill considered without further study.
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