Hundreds Attend Lehigh County Radon Information Meeting

Several hundred residents from the Center Valley/Coopersburg region of Lehigh County attended a December 4 information meeting about record high levels of radon detected in the area hosted by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that any dwelling or structure with a radon concentration of more than 4 pCi/L be remediated to lower the radon concentration.

DEP identified a home there with the highest residential radon level ever measured in Pennsylvania.  The concentration in the affected home measured 3,715 picocuries per liter (pCi/L).  Additionally, several other homes in the area have had measured concentrations over 1,000 pCi/L.

In this circumstance, DEP recommended the occupants vacate the home until the measured radon concentration was verified and remediated to a level less than 4 pCi/L A radon mitigation system was successfully installed on Dec. 6 allowing the homeowners to return.

Elevated radon levels in homes in this area were initially observed in September. In response, DEP sent letters to more than 500 Center Valley area residents and included a coupon for a free test kit to encourage the residents to test their homes.

The residents of the home with this highest measured radon concentration responded to that letter by testing their home. In addition, DEP is working with several other residents to conduct follow-up testing, as well as taking soil and rock samples in the area that will undergo additional testing.

DEP has created a webpage with radon information for residents in the Center Valley/Coopersburg region.  In addition, people can call DEP's toll-free radon hotline at 800-23-RADON for more information.

(Reprinted from the December 11 DEP News.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy and to read back issues.)

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