Last Updated: April 2023

Author: Radon Program, Vermont Department of Health

The Vermont Radon Program seeks to reduce radon risk in Vermont by:

1. increasing the number of Vermont houses and buildings tested for radon
2. encouraging mitigation of houses with radon concentrations above the EPA action level, and
3. implementing radon resistant new construction (RRNC) features into new houses.

The Vermont Radon Program has distributed more than 59,000 free radon test kits to Vermonters. Long term radon test kits should be placed in the lowest occupied space in the home and be returned to the Health Department after 3 to 12 months. However, many people forget to place the kit or once placed, forget to return it to the Health Department. One of the Radon Program's performance measures, therefore, is the percent of the radon kits that we have distributed that are returned within the two-year period after they are sent out.

Beginning in January of 2016, the Vermont Radon Program started using Front Porch Forum to promote radon testing during National Radon Action Month. Thousands of kit requests are recived each year during this annual campaign. Although the return rates are not as high as we are targeting, the actual number of Vermonters returning a radon kit, and thus receiving a result, has increased because of this annual campaign.

The Radon Program partners with Environmental Public Health Tracking, Comprehensive Cancer Control, Cancer Registry, and Tobacco Control to develop accurate and effective outreach materials. The Radon Program also works with the Vermont Geological Survey to develop radon risk maps that show where the risk of radon exposure may be greater due to the physical characteristics of the soil and bedrock. Finally, local NeighborWorks organizations, USDA's Rural Housing Section 504 Home Repair program and the Burlington Lead Program provide funding opportunities for eligible Vermonters that can be used for the installation of radon mitigation systems.

Vermont has one of the highest return rates in the nation compared to other states that provide free radon kits to residents. Reminder letters are sent out to residents 11 and 12 months after they receive the radon kit.

Posting to Front Porch Forum to promote radon testing during National Radon Action Month has led to thousands of kit requests each year. Using data from the Vermont Radon Program and Front Porch Forum, an analysis showed that despite this success, our posts were not causing Vermonters to request radon test kits equally across the state. In the Northeast Kingdom (NEK), only 50% of homes use Front Porch Forum and less test kits were distributed per 1000 households to NEK counties compared to other counties. This is concerning because the NEK has other factors that make radon testing especially important, like their geology and smoking rates. To address this disparity the Health Department worked with partners in the NEK like town clerks, libraries and other community organizations to spread the word about testing during National Radon Action Month in 2023.

The Radon program targets outreach efforts towards smokers, whose risk of getting radon-induced lung cancer is 7 to 10 times greater than people who have never smoked. When a particularly high radon result is received (for example greater than 10 times the EPA standard) the Health Department sends a message to that community via Front Porch Forum encouraging everyone to test their homes. Other outreach activities focus on encouraging home builders to use "Radon Resistant Construction Practices" and testing schools for radon.