View all text of Subchapter III [§ 2661 - § 2671]
§ 2665. Technical assistance to States for radon programs
(a) Required activitiesThe Administrator (or another Federal department or agency designated by the Administrator) shall develop and implement activities designed to assist State radon programs. These activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Establishment of a clearinghouse of radon related information, including mitigation studies, public information materials, surveys of radon levels, and other relevant information.
(2) Operation of a voluntary proficiency program for rating the effectiveness of radon measurement devices and methods, the effectiveness of radon mitigation devices and methods, and the effectiveness of private firms and individuals offering radon-related architecture, design, engineering, measurement, and mitigation services. The proficiency program under this subparagraph shall be in operation within one year after October 28, 1988.
(3) Design and implementation of training seminars for State and local officials and private and professional firms dealing with radon and addressing topics such as monitoring, analysis, mitigation, health effects, public information, and program design.
(4) Publication of public information materials concerning radon health risks and methods of radon mitigation.
(5) Operation of cooperative projects between the Environmental Protection Agency’s Radon Action Program and the State’s radon program. Such projects shall include the Home Evaluation Program, in which the Environmental Protection Agency evaluates homes and States demonstrate mitigation methods in these homes. To the maximum extent practicable, consistent with the objectives of the evaluation and demonstration, homes of low-income persons should be selected for evaluation and demonstration.
(6) Demonstration of radon mitigation methods in various types of structures and in various geographic settings and publication of findings. In the case of demonstration of such methods in homes, the Administrator should select homes of low-income persons, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with the objectives of the demonstration.
(7) Establishment of a national data base with data organized by State concerning the location and amounts of radon.
(8) Development and demonstration of methods of radon measurement and mitigation that take into account unique characteristics, if any, of nonresidential buildings housing child care facilities.
(b) Discretionary assistanceUpon request of a State, the Administrator (or another Federal department or agency designated by the Administrator) may provide technical assistance to such State in development or implementation of programs addressing radon. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Design and implementation of surveys of the location and occurrence of radon within a State.
(2) Design and implementation of public information and education programs.
(3) Design and implementation of State programs to control radon in existing or new structures.
(4) Assessment of mitigation alternatives in unusual or unconventional structures.
(5) Design and implementation of methods for radon measurement and mitigation for nonresidential buildings housing child care facilities.
(c) Information provided to professional organizations
(d) Proficiency rating program and training seminar
(1) Authorization
(2) Charge imposed
(3) Special account
(4) Reimbursement of general fund
(5) ResearchThe Administrator shall, in conjunction with other Federal agencies, conduct research to develop, test, and evaluate radon and radon progeny measurement methods and protocols. The purpose of such research shall be to assess the ability of those methods and protocols to accurately assess exposure to radon progeny. Such research shall include—
(A) conducting comparisons among radon and radon progeny measurement techniques;
(B) developing measurement protocols for different building types under varying operating conditions; and
(C) comparing the exposures estimated by stationary monitors and protocols to those measured by personal monitors, and issue guidance documents that—
(i) provide information on the results of research conducted under this paragraph; and
(ii) describe model State radon measurement and mitigation programs.
(6) Mandatory proficiency testing program study
(A) The Administrator shall conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a mandatory proficiency testing program that would require that—
(i) any product offered for sale, or device used in connection with a service offered to the public, for the measurement of radon meets minimum performance criteria; and
(ii) any operator of a device, or person employing a technique, used in connection with a service offered to the public for the measurement of radon meets a minimum level of proficiency.
(B) The study shall also address procedures for—
(i) ordering the recall of any product sold for the measurement of radon which does not meet minimum performance criteria;
(ii) ordering the discontinuance of any service offered to the public for the measurement of radon which does not meet minimum performance criteria; and
(iii) establishing adequate quality assurance requirements for each company offering radon measurement services to the public to follow.
The study shall identify enforcement mechanisms necessary to the success of the program. The Administrator shall report the findings of the study with recommendations to Congress by March 1, 1991.
(7) User fee
(e) Authorization
(1) There is authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of carrying out sections 2663, 2664, and 2665 of this title an amount not to exceed $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1989, 1990, and 1991.
(2) No amount appropriated under this subsection may be used by the Environmental Protection Agency to administer the grant program under section 2666 of this title.
(3) No amount appropriated under this subsection may be used to cover the costs of the proficiency rating program under subsection (a)(2).
(Pub. L. 94–469, title III, § 305, as added Pub. L. 100–551, § 1(a), Oct. 28, 1988, 102 Stat. 2756; amended Pub. L. 101–508, title X, § 10202, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–393; Pub. L. 104–66, title II, § 2021(l), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 728.)