Social Determinants of Health, Environmental Exposures and Home Radon Testing

Stanifer, Stacy R; Rayens, Mary Kay; Wiggins, Amanda; Hahn, Ellen J.

doi:10.1177/01939459211009561

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Testing rates increased with median home value [ 22 ]. A similar positive association between home value and radon testing was reported for homes in Kentucky [ 21 , 23 ]. Thus, it is likely that the higher radon levels reported by commercial labs, at least in part, reflect an over-representation of more expensive homes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Criterion Validity of Radon Test Values Reported by a Commercial Laboratory versus the Environmental Protection Agency

Schwartz

Klug

Williamson

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Objective: Radon exposure is a proven cause of lung cancer and is a possible cause of other diseases. Recently, several ecologic studies explored the correlation of county-wide incidence rates for non-lung cancers with residential radon levels, using radon data reported by a commercial laboratory. However, the validity of the commercial radon data, i.e., whether they are an accurate representation of the radon levels in the counties from which they were drawn, is unknown. Methods: We compared county-wide radon data from the commercial laboratory with corresponding measurements from the same counties reported previously by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Matching data were available for four states, Iowa, North Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin, and were compared by paired t-tests. Criterion validity of the commercial tests, i.e., how well the commercial data predicted the EPA data, was tested using non-parametric methods, Kendall’s tau, Lin’s concordance, and Passing–Bablok regression. Results: The commercial and EPA data pairs from the four states were significantly positively correlated, although the size of the correlations was modest (tau = 0.490, Lin = 0.600). Passing–Bablok regression indicated that the commercial radon values were significantly higher than their EPA pairs and significantly overestimated radon at low levels (<4 pCi/L, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The commercial laboratory data were moderately predictive of EPA radon levels at the county level but were significantly biased upwards at low levels. The disagreement likely has several causes, including selection bias from homes that were tested voluntarily. Ecologic studies that employ radon data obtained from commercial laboratories should be interpreted with caution.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Criterion Validity of Radon Test Values Reported by a Commercial Laboratory versus the Environmental Protection Agency

Schwartz

Klug

Williamson

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…The pro-testing behavior among low-income individuals and families seen in our study counters the findings from several research on radon exposure and testing by socioeconomic status. Both smoking and radon are known to disproportionately affect the poor who are more likely to be financially challenged by the cost of mitigation [62,63]. Nevertheless, the motivation to test may be explained in part by renting or living in basements and/or by having landlords either subsidize or pay wholly for testing, particularly if required by law.…”

Section: Bridging the Gap Between Radon Awareness And Testing Behavio...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Radon Awareness and Policy Perspectives on Testing and Mitigation

et al. 2021

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One in three homes in Utah (USA) contains dangerous levels of radon. Except for a radon mitigation certification law, Utah’s radon laws are nonexistent. To determine public perception of state policies on radon testing and mitigation, a social cognitive theory-based 52-item questionnaire was administered to residents (N = 307) who visited the Utah County Health Department (UCHD) during the study period. Respondents were divided into an Environmental Health Group (n = 110), who purchased a radon kit, and Vital Records Control Group (n = 197), who filed/obtained birth/death certificates at UCHD. Ninety percent responded they had never tested their homes for radon, and 99% were not aware of state policies regarding radon. Support for various radon policies was significantly associated with older age (odds ratios (OR): 0.37–0.52), being female (OR: 2.60–7.79), lower annual family income (OR: 2.27), and theoretical constructs of behavioral modeling (OR: 2.31–2.55) and risk perception (OR: 2.55–3.71). To increase awareness, testing, and remediation, respondents suggested increasing public education/awareness, requiring testing in homes, businesses, and public buildings, and increasing access to testing. Multi-sectoral radon risk reduction programs could incorporate behavioral modeling and risk perception as components to create a radon testing and mitigation culture in Utah.

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“…Where deposits of uranium and toran lie in soil and rock below homes, radon is emitted and can seep through any cracks in foundations. As an invisible, odorless gas, radon can only be detected via a specific test, yet the rate at which householders undertake tests is notoriously low (e.g., Cholowsky et al, 2021;Poortinga, Bronstering & Lannon, 2011;Stanifer, Rayens, Wiggins & Hahn, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using information provision and interactive risk maps to motivate testing for radon

Timmons¹,

Lunn²

2022

Preprint

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Radon exposure in homes is a leading cause of lung cancer, but the rate at which householders test for it is low. In a pre-registered experiment with a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 1,700), we used psychological theory to design interventions to increase perceived risk from radon and motivate testing. Results show that providing information about radon increased belief that exposure would lead to negative consequences. Interactive maps that depict the geographical distribution of radon risk increased perceived likelihood of exposure, general worry and willingness to test for it, but the effects depend on the map’s attributes. Maps that communicate risk using numeric frequencies of the number of homes in an area likely to be affected by radon (e.g., 1 in 5 homes) were more effective than ones that used simple statements (e.g., your home is at high risk). Adding an intermediate “moderate” risk category increased perceived risk compared to a binary high/low classification system among those in the moderate risk area, without altering perceptions of those at high risk. Other map features (colour and search functionality) had little impact. The best performing map led to 72% more people being willing to test for radon, compared to the map in use by the national Environmental Protection Agency at the time of the study. The results have implications for theories of risk perception and show the potential for techniques from psychological science to help mitigate a real-world environmental risk.

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Social Determinants of Health, Environmental Exposures and Home Radon Testing

Cited by 11 publications

References 20 publications

Criterion Validity of Radon Test Values Reported by a Commercial Laboratory versus the Environmental Protection Agency

Criterion Validity of Radon Test Values Reported by a Commercial Laboratory versus the Environmental Protection Agency

Radon Awareness and Policy Perspectives on Testing and Mitigation

Using information provision and interactive risk maps to motivate testing for radon

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