#2024-24 Robert Lewis – The History of Radon

Robert Lewis is the Radon Program Manager at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. He wrote a paper and presented on the History of Radon from 1470 to 1984 which I found to be an interesting way to approach the subject of Radon in our homes. Early in my career I combined home inspection with energy ratings and offered a radon measurement service. At the time I had to get an EPA radon certification and ever since I have been puzzled by how little builders think about radon and the installation of a simple passive radon mitigation system. As Robert says and alludes to in our conversation, “radon mitigation systems in new construction are a cost-effective insurance policy to protect against lung cancer since you have no idea of the potential of the problem until the house has been occupied. My conversation with Robert not only discusses history, but also what radon is, how it migrates into our homes, as well as mitigation systems. I don’t think we can talk about high performance homes, without also including Radon in the conversation. Robert Lewis on LinkedIn Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Radon Division 2024 IRC Appendix BE Radon Control Methods EPA Radon resources AARST is now Indoor Environments Association™ EPA Indoor airPLUS program