The National Radon Action Plan 2021–2025
The National Radon Action Plan (NRAP)|2021–25 is the third installment of a strategy anchored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ramp up action on radon. The NRAP Leadership Council unites different perspectives on the challenge of finding and fixing preventable radon exposures. The Council has sustained its collaboration to guide national radon action for the decade (2015–2025). The NRAP Leadership Council takes seriously the need to accelerate progress with every iteration of the NRAP (see the report Reflections on the NRAP’s Progress, 2015–2020). In 2021, the NRAP has set a goal for the nation to find, fix and prevent high indoor radon levels in 8 million buildings by 2025; to prevent an average of at least 3,500 lung cancer deaths per year; and to save one-quarter of a million lives in those buildings over during the next 74 years.
Several themes have emerged in discussions for the next version of the NRAP, including:
- A commitment to changing building codes, as well as a focus on tenant resources and action.
- Leveraging available sources of funding and recognizing opportunities to seek additional funding.
- And finally, a commitment to address disparities in radon risk reduction.
The NRAP Leadership Council invites leaders who are serious about saving lives; building in health protection where we live, work, and learn; eliminating preventable disease; and realizing a high return on investment in a healthier future to join the NRAP Leadership Council.
Read NRAP|2021-25 to learn more about the NRAP Leadership Council's goal areas, strategies for action and target outcomes for the next 5 years.
En Español - El Plan Nacional de Acción contra el Radón 2021-2025
Reflections on the National Radon Action Plan's (NRAP) Progress, 2015-2020
In 2015, the NRAP Leadership set a bold goal to mitigate 5 million high-radon homes and save 3,200 lives annually by 2020. By building radon testing and mitigation practices into the systems that govern purchasing, financing, constructing and renovating buildings; creating incentives and funding for radon risk reduction; disseminating professional standards; and raising awareness of radon risk, we have come close to the boldest goal we could imagine in 2015. In 2020, the Reflections on the the National Radon Action Plan's Progress, counts lives saved and measures the strategic impact with the plan and the strong national partnership to drive radon action in the future.
Moving forward, NRAP Leadership are focused on maintaining momentum and increasing impacts. To achieve this, they will not only broaden the scope of their work, but industry, nonprofit and public agencies will continue to collaborate to build a stronger national partnership and to incorporate radon requirements into housing financing and codes to achieve greater impact by 2025 in an NRAP 2021-2025.
A NATIONAL PLAN TO SAVE LIVES
A national effort is underway to implement strategies for preventing 3,200 lung cancer deaths annually by 2020 by reducing high radon levels in five million homes, apartments, schools and childcare centers. The partnership includes three federal departments and agencies and nine national organizations.
The National Radon Action Plan: A Strategy for Saving Lives sets out strategies to drive the changes needed to reduce exposure to radon. Strategies include requiring radon testing and reduction systems as a standard practice in housing finance and insurance programs, and institutionalizing radon risk reduction through building code requirements.
The strategies in National Radon Action Plan (NRAP) reflect the strongest potential to effectively reduce radon risk through institutionalizing risk reduction. The coalition of NRAP members have formed committees to execute all strategies, with a particular focus on those strategies most likely to result in systems change. Building on the framework for planning action that the federal government had started, the four key strategies in the NRAP are the following (Click on the links below to see progress on this work.):
- Build in radon risk reduction: Approaches that embed radon risk reduction as standard practice across the entire housing sector.
- Provide incentives and support for radon risk reduction: Approaches that motivate individuals to pay for testing, mitigation and radon-resistant construction with financial encouragement and provide direct financial support for radon testing and risk reduction for people who cannot pay.
- Test and mitigate using professional radon services: Approaches that promote the use of certified radon services and help to build demand to sustain a high quality industry.
- Increase visibility: Approaches that garner broad public attention for the radon issue and demonstrate the importance of radon risk reduction.
The NRAP builds on the work of the Federal Radon Action Plan adopted in 2011. Under that plan, federal agencies made several key steps using available authority and resources to advance the battle against radon. Key federal partners leading the way in the National Radon Action Plan are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nine national organizations are also active leaders in the NRAP: American Lung Association, which heads the Leadership Council; American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists; American Society of Home Inspectors; Cancer Survivors Against Radon; Children’s Environmental Health Network; Citizens for Radioactive Radon Reduction; Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors; Environmental Law Institute; and National Center for Healthy Housing. NRAP
En Español - El plan nacional de acción contra el radon
