HB4665 EngrossedLRB097 19079 JLS 64318 b

1    AN ACT concerning residential construction.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Radon
5Resistant Construction Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. Radon is a radioactive element that is
7part of the radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring
8uranium in soil. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer
9among non-smokers and the number one risk in homes according to
10the Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Risk Analysis.
11The 2008-2009 Annual Report from the President's Cancer Panel
12stated: "Comparative risk assessments by the Environmental
13Protection Agency and its Science Advisory Board have
14consistently ranked radon among the top 4 environmental risks
15to the public.". The World Health Organization's Handbook on
16Radon Key Messages include: "There is no known threshold
17concentration below which radon exposure presents no risk. The
18majority of radon-induced lung cancers are caused by low and
19moderate radon concentrations rather than by high radon
20concentrations, because in general less people are exposed to
21high indoor radon concentrations.". The Surgeon General of the
22United States urged Americans to test their homes to find out
23how much radon they might be breathing. The United States

 

 

HB4665 Engrossed- 2 -LRB097 19079 JLS 64318 b

1Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than
220,000 Americans die of radon-related lung cancer each year.
 
3    Section 10. Primary responsibility with Illinois Emergency
4Management Agency.
5    (a) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall have
6primary responsibility for coordination, oversight, and
7implementation of all State functions in matters concerning the
8presence, effects, measurement, and mitigation of risks of
9radon and radon progeny in dwellings and other buildings. The
10Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection
11Agency, the Department of Public Health, and other State
12agencies shall consult and cooperate with the Agency as
13requested and as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this Act.
14    (b) The Agency shall promulgate rules necessary for the
15administration and implementation of this Act.
 
16    Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
17context requires otherwise:
18    "Active mitigation system", also known as "active soil
19depressurization" or "ASD", means a family of radon mitigation
20systems involving mechanically driven soil depressurization,
21including sub-slab depressurization (SSD), drain tile
22depressurization (DTD), block wall depressurization (BWD), and
23sub-membrane depressurization (SMD).
24    "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

 

 

HB4665 Engrossed- 3 -LRB097 19079 JLS 64318 b

1    "New residential construction" means any original
2construction of a single-family home or a dwelling containing 2
3or fewer apartments, condominiums, or town houses.
4    "Passive new construction pipe" means a pipe installed in
5new construction that relies solely on the convective flow of
6air upward for soil gas depressurization and may consist of
7multiple pipes routed through conditioned space from below the
8foundation to above the roof.
9    "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of
10uranium or thorium.
11    "Radon contractor" means a person licensed in accordance
12with the Radon Industry Licensing Act to perform radon or radon
13progeny mitigation or to perform measurements of radon or radon
14progeny in an indoor atmosphere.
15    "Radon resistant construction" means the installation of
16passive new construction pipe during new residential
17construction.
18    "Residential building code" means an ordinance,
19resolution, or law that establishes standards applicable to new
20residential construction.
21    "Residential building contractor" means any individual,
22corporation, or partnership that constructs new residential
23construction.
24    "Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes" means the
25Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes as authorized by
26the Radon Industry Licensing Act.
 

 

 

HB4665 Engrossed- 4 -LRB097 19079 JLS 64318 b

1    Section 20. Adoption of passive radon resistant
2construction. All new residential construction in this State
3shall include passive radon resistant construction.
 
4    Section 25. Installation of active mitigation systems. The
5installation of an active mitigation system shall only be
6performed by a radon contractor. The installation of radon
7resistant construction may be performed by a residential
8building contractor or his or her subcontractors or a radon
9contractor during new residential construction. Only a radon
10contractor may install a radon vent fan or upgrade a passive
11new construction pipe to an active mitigation system.
 
12    Section 30. Local administration and enforcement. A local
13governmental unit that has adopted any ordinance, resolution,
14or law regulating radon resistant construction may provide for
15its administration and enforcement.
 
16    Section 35. Local standards. Governmental units may adopt,
17pursuant to local ordinance, regulations at least as stringent
18as the rules promulgated by the Agency or may, by ordinance or
19resolution, adopt the rules promulgated by the Agency for radon
20resistant construction and the fixtures, materials, and design
21and installation methods of radon resistant construction
22systems. The rules promulgated by the Agency may be

 

 

HB4665 Engrossed- 5 -LRB097 19079 JLS 64318 b

1incorporated in the ordinance or resolution by reference.
 
2    Section 97. The Radon Industry Licensing Act is amended by
3changing Section 28 as follows:
 
4    (420 ILCS 44/28)
5    Sec. 28. Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes.
6    (a) The Radon-Resistant Building Codes Task Force is
7created. The Task Force consists of the following members:
8        (1) the Director, ex officio, or his or her
9    representative, who is the chair of the Task Force;
10        (2) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
11    home builders' association in Illinois;
12        (3) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
13    home inspectors' association in Illinois;
14        (4) a representative, designated by the Director, of an
15    international building code organization;
16        (5) a representative, designated by the Director, of an
17    Illinois realtors' organization;
18        (6) two representatives, designated by the Director,
19    of respiratory disease organizations, each from a
20    different organization;
21        (7) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
22    cancer research and prevention organization;
23        (8) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
24    municipal organization in Illinois;

 

 

HB4665 Engrossed- 6 -LRB097 19079 JLS 64318 b

1        (9) one person appointed by the Speaker of the House of
2    Representatives;
3        (10) one person appointed by the Minority Leader of the
4    House of Representatives;
5        (11) one person appointed by the President of the
6    Senate; and
7        (12) one person appointed by the Minority Leader of the
8    Senate.
9    (b) The Task Force shall meet at the call of the chair.
10Members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed
11for their reasonable expenses from moneys appropriated for that
12purpose. The Agency shall provide staff and support for the
13operation of the Task Force.
14    (c) The Task Force shall make recommendations to the
15Governor and , the Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency,
16and the Pollution Control Board concerning the adoption of
17rules for building codes and, by January 1, 2013, for radon
18resistant construction in new residential construction.
19(Source: P.A. 96-195, eff. 8-10-09.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect June 1,
212013, except that this Section and Section 97 take effect upon
22becoming law.