Radon in Georgia Georgia Radon Education Program (GREP) Newsletter and Outreach Report January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014 GREP is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management Na onal Radon Ac on Month Each year during the month of January we celebrate Na onal Radon Ac on Month (NRAM) by conduc ng many outreach and educa on programs and efforts to raise awareness of radon and its health effects in the state of Georgia. During this past January programs for new mothers at St. Mary s Hospital in Athens, employees in Athens Clarke County Government, faculty and staff at George Walton Academy in Walton County, and staff at Athens Pulmonary were conducted. We also had booths and tables set up on campus at the University of Georgia and at Winter School, which is an event for Extension employees at Rock Eagle 4 H Camp. Each of these events helped to spread the message of what radon is, why it is something we should be concerned with, how to test your home, and what to do if your results come back high. Numerous individuals at each event did not know why radon was the second leading cause of lung cancer. Some individuals had tested their homes before or knew they should and decided to get kits from us at the event. Na onal Radon Ac on Month also meant an increase in the amount of news ar cles and press that is conducted. Many extension agents throughout the state published and shared ar cles about tes ng homes, Radon Educator Becky Chenhall had a TV interview in Walton County, and local newspapers featured the Radon Poster Contest winners. Like in the past, we met with the governor during NRAM to promote radon awareness. Governor Deal met and took photos with the Radon Poster Contest winners, their families, and radon stakeholders and signed a proclama on for NRAM. Gov. Nathan Deal with Radon Poster Contest winners, their families, and radon stakeholders. 1st Place, Hayden Guthrie Oconee County, 8th Grade 2nd Place, Tyler Haymans Walton County, 7th Grade 3rd Place, India Gipson Walton County, 6th Grade
Home Health and Garden Show On March 29th, Radon Educator Gabrielle Walters and Oconee County student Nanki Udhwani par cipated in WNEG s Home and Garden Show in Stephens County. WNEG is a local radio sta on in Stephens County that hosts this show and provides informa on on making homes and gardens healthier to over 600 par cipants each year. The University of Georgia Radon Educa on Program had a table set up at the event to promote tes ng homes for radon. Complimentary gi s, such as pens, pencils, and notepads, were handed out along with informa onal brochures and flyers. Radon test kits were available for purchase and were also the door prize each hour for the UGA Radon Program. In the me at the Home and Garden Show, the UGA Radon Educa on Program interacted with over 80 individuals. Some had tested their homes previously and many had never heard of why radon is harmful. This is a wonderful event for the UGA Radon Educa on Program to be involved with because it puts us in contact with a large number of individuals from an area that can greatly benefit from tes ng their homes. The WNEG Home and Garden Show is an event our program has been involved with in the past, and it is one we will likely par cipate with in the future. Going Green for St. Patrick s Day To combine the idea of going green and St. Patrick s Day in March, a blog focused on radon was wri en by Gabrielle Walters and published through UGA GreenWay. This blog talked about how tes ng your home for radon can be considered going green and spring cleaning because homeowners are tes ng the quality of their air and are preparing to take ac on to, in a sense, clean their air if needed. The blog was centered around St. Patrick s Day and was published during the week of that holiday. It s important for the UGA Radon Educa on Program to con nue to find ways to e in the idea of tes ng homes for radon with other events that seem commonplace to many individuals. Doing so will likely remove any ideas that tes ng is difficult or me consuming. Making it so that individuals see the ease in tes ng and have another event they regularly celebrate or par cipate in that reminds them to test their homes is a great way to ensure that more and more individuals are tes ng their homes. The blog can be found at: h p://ugagreenway.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/gogreen for st patricks day/
Radon Outreach Program Contacts & Media Impressions January through March 2014 PROGRAM CONTACTS Hall/Clarke Walton Totals PROGRAMS-MEETINGS 2 6 8 Participants 48 71 119 Materials Distributed 50 405 455 Materials Distributed EXHIBITS-EVENTS 2 3 5 Participants 230 312 542 Materials Distributed 350 115 465 OTHER CONTACTS Hall/Clarke Walton Totals TOTAL CONTACTS 142 193 335 Medical professionals 0 25 25 Home builders 0 0 0 Realtors 2 1 3 Consumer Contacts 140 167 307 KIT USAGE DATA Hall/Clarke Walton Totals KITS DISTRIBUTED 120 116 279 Results Received 63 97 160 >= 4 pci/l 16 9 25 <= 4 pc/l 42 79 121 Incomplete 5 9 14 % => 4 pci/l 27.6% 10.0% 17.1% Highest Level 11.4 11.6 11.6 MITIGATION DATA Hall/Clarke Walton Totals RRNC 2 0 0 0 Mitigations 3 0 0 0 Mitigation Referrals 20 10 30 MEDIA IMPRESSIONS Hall/Clarke Walton Totals RADIO 0 1 87 Listeners 0 10,000 10,000 0 TELEVISION 0 1 1 Viewers 0 30,000 30,000 NEWSPAPER 0 5 5 Circulation 0 135,000 135,000 NEWSLETTERS 1 1 2 Distribution 150 150 300 Local Web Hits 4 0 0 0 GA SIRG WEB HITS 5 556 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 261 175,300 1 Other includes radon education/results of former educators & county FACS/4-H Agents. 2 Reported quarterly by Southface. GA SIRG REPORT January - March 2014 3 Mitigation& RRNCs completed by Certified Mitigators are reported annually. Volume XIII
Radon Outreach Program Contacts & Media Impressions April 2003 through March 2014 PROGRAM CONTACTS Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other 1 Totals Programs / Meetings 273 187 266 193 598 1,084 27 2,628 Participants 8,586 4,335 15,112 3,866 22,263 17,946 2,099 74,207 Materials Distributed 14,828 11,441 15,887 6,595 45,057 9,184 75 103,067 Exhibits or Events 1 131 86 175 63 162 67 31 715 Participants 42,885 6,558 146,287 11,978 156,213 13,798 2,996 380,715 Materials Distributed 48,905 8,947 50,145 8,057 25,010 1,296 1,346 143,706 OTHER CONTACTS Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other Totals Total Direct Contacts 4,426 1,385 1,216 475 5,135 12,268 52 24,957 Medical professionals 459 51 242 56 840 0 24 1,672 Home builders 344 29 43 45 377 10,082 0 10,920 Realtors 455 93 85 25 204 836 28 1,726 Consumer Contacts 3,168 1,212 846 349 3,714 1,350 0 10,639 KIT USAGE DATA Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other Totals Kits Distributed 8,013 4,271 7,853 2,893 11,775 5,192 4,600 44,597 Test Results Received 2,750 1,613 2,434 1,354 6,052 1,060 849 16,112 Highest Level 49.9 31.3 54.4 44.0 85.8 77.1 0.0 85.8 MITIGATION DATA Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other Totals Mitigation Referrals 959 249 361 91 706 412 0 2,778 Mitigations 2 2,970 RRNC 3 1,480 MEDIA IMPRESSIONS Hall DeKalb Gwinnett Elbert Walton Southface Other Totals Radio Outreach 66 11 8 4,278 137 1 2 4,503 Listening Audience 4,847,000 3,670,000 10,000 4,020,000 2,693,000 2,000 377,000 15,619,000 TV Outreach 139 75 713 8 269 2 437 1,643 Viewing Audience 25,020,100 12,733,000 73,981,740 15,080 27,778,000 1,328,000 8,385,000 149,240,920 Newspaper Outreach 45 4 19 13 96 0 6 183 Circulation 1,325,000 3,223,000 1,304,817 154,800 3,420,449 0 69,500 9,497,566 Newsletter Outreach 50 2 14 17 54 9 16 162 Distribution 29,300 249 16,746 9,215 1,638,030 903,048 6,054 2,602,642 Local Web Hits 5 0 1,044 20,600 0 12,000 0 0 33,644 State Web Hits 6 53,076 51,296 0 104,372 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 31,232,015 19,637,908 75,344,518 4,209,710 35,552,094 2,284,344 8,837,554 177,098,144 1Other includes radon education/results of former radon educators and county FACS/4-H Agents. 2Reported quarterly by Southface only. 3Certified GA mitigators reported their mitigations & RRNCs annually through 2012. 4 Began tracking Jan. 1, 2010 5UGA Radon Program web hits are shared equally among the 5 radon educators
RADON RESOURCES & CONTACTS Georgia Indoor Radon Grant Administration Jim Frederick, Office Director jim.frederick@dca.ga.gov Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management 60 Executive Park South NE, Atlanta, GA 30329 404-679-3105 Adriane Wood, Grant Coordinator adriane.wood@dca.ga.gov Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management 479 Cherry Street, Macon, GA. 31201 478-319-0433 Radon Hotline Numbers National Hotlines Kansas State University / EPA 1-800-SOS-RADON (1-800-767-7236) 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday Friday National Hispanic Indoor Air Quality 1-800-725-8312 The Radon Fix It Line: (National Safety Program) 1-800-644-6999 Get live help for your radon questions 1-800-55RADON (557-2366)* Radon Fix-It Hotline General information on reducing radon levels 1-800-644-6999* Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791 * Operated by Kansas State University in partnership with EPA The Georgia Radon Education Program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Office of Planning and Environmental Management, in partnership with the University of Georgia College of Family & Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension. Gabrielle Walters 706-583-0602 gab589@uga.edu UGA Radon Program Team Dr. Pamela R. Turner, Director 706-542-9165 prturner@uga.edu www.ugaradon.org Becky Chenhall 770-267-1324 chenhall@uga.edu