Rep. Emily McAsey

Filed: 3/26/2012

 

 


 

 


 
09700HB4665ham002LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4665

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4665, AS AMENDED, by
3replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Radon
6Resistant Construction Act.
 
7    Section 5. Findings. Radon is a radioactive element that is
8part of the radioactive decay chain of naturally occurring
9uranium in soil. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer
10among non-smokers and the number one risk in homes according to
11the Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Risk Analysis.
12The 2008-2009 Annual Report from the President's Cancer Panel
13stated: "Comparative risk assessments by the Environmental
14Protection Agency and its Science Advisory Board have
15consistently ranked radon among the top 4 environmental risks
16to the public.". The World Health Organization's Handbook on

 

 

09700HB4665ham002- 2 -LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1Radon Key Messages include: "There is no known threshold
2concentration below which radon exposure presents no risk. The
3majority of radon-induced lung cancers are caused by low and
4moderate radon concentrations rather than by high radon
5concentrations, because in general less people are exposed to
6high indoor radon concentrations.". The Surgeon General of the
7United States urged Americans to test their homes to find out
8how much radon they might be breathing. The United States
9Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than
1020,000 Americans die of radon-related lung cancer each year.
 
11    Section 10. Primary responsibility with Illinois Emergency
12Management Agency.
13    (a) The Illinois Emergency Management Agency shall have
14primary responsibility for coordination, oversight, and
15implementation of all State functions in matters concerning the
16presence, effects, measurement, and mitigation of risks of
17radon and radon progeny in dwellings and other buildings. The
18Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection
19Agency, the Department of Public Health, and other State
20agencies shall consult and cooperate with the Agency as
21requested and as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this Act.
22    (b) The Agency shall promulgate rules necessary for the
23administration and implementation of this Act.
 
24    Section 15. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the

 

 

09700HB4665ham002- 3 -LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1context requires otherwise:
2    "Active mitigation system", also known as "active soil
3depressurization" or "ASD", means a family of radon mitigation
4systems involving mechanically driven soil depressurization,
5including sub-slab depressurization (SSD), drain tile
6depressurization (DTD), block wall depressurization (BWD), and
7sub-membrane depressurization (SMD).
8    "Agency" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
9    "New residential construction" means any original
10construction of a single-family home or a dwelling containing 2
11or fewer apartments, condominiums, or town houses.
12    "Passive new construction pipe" means a pipe installed in
13new construction that relies solely on the convective flow of
14air upward for soil gas depressurization and may consist of
15multiple pipes routed through conditioned space from below the
16foundation to above the roof.
17    "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of
18uranium or thorium.
19    "Radon contractor" means a person licensed in accordance
20with the Radon Industry Licensing Act to perform radon or radon
21progeny mitigation or to perform measurements of radon or radon
22progeny in an indoor atmosphere.
23    "Radon resistant construction" means the installation of
24passive new construction pipe during new residential
25construction.
26    "Residential building code" means an ordinance,

 

 

09700HB4665ham002- 4 -LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1resolution, or law that establishes standards applicable to new
2residential construction.
3    "Residential building contractor" means any individual,
4corporation, or partnership that constructs new residential
5construction.
6    "Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes" means the
7Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes as authorized by
8the Radon Industry Licensing Act.
 
9    Section 20. Adoption of passive radon resistant
10construction. All new residential construction in this State
11shall include passive radon resistant construction.
 
12    Section 25. Installation of active mitigation systems. The
13installation of an active mitigation system shall only be
14performed by a radon contractor. The installation of radon
15resistant construction may be performed by a residential
16building contractor or his or her subcontractors or a radon
17contractor during new residential construction. Only a radon
18contractor may install a radon vent fan or upgrade a passive
19new construction pipe to an active mitigation system.
 
20    Section 30. Local administration and enforcement. A local
21governmental unit that has adopted any ordinance, resolution,
22or law regulating radon resistant construction may provide for
23its administration and enforcement.
 

 

 

09700HB4665ham002- 5 -LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1    Section 35. Local standards. Governmental units may adopt,
2pursuant to local ordinance, regulations at least as stringent
3as the rules promulgated by the Agency or may, by ordinance or
4resolution, adopt the rules promulgated by the Agency for radon
5resistant construction and the fixtures, materials, and design
6and installation methods of radon resistant construction
7systems. The rules promulgated by the Agency may be
8incorporated in the ordinance or resolution by reference.
 
9    Section 97. The Radon Industry Licensing Act is amended by
10changing Section 28 as follows:
 
11    (420 ILCS 44/28)
12    Sec. 28. Task Force on Radon-Resistant Building Codes.
13    (a) The Radon-Resistant Building Codes Task Force is
14created. The Task Force consists of the following members:
15        (1) the Director, ex officio, or his or her
16    representative, who is the chair of the Task Force;
17        (2) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
18    home builders' association in Illinois;
19        (3) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
20    home inspectors' association in Illinois;
21        (4) a representative, designated by the Director, of an
22    international building code organization;
23        (5) a representative, designated by the Director, of an

 

 

09700HB4665ham002- 6 -LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1    Illinois realtors' organization;
2        (6) two representatives, designated by the Director,
3    of respiratory disease organizations, each from a
4    different organization;
5        (7) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
6    cancer research and prevention organization;
7        (8) a representative, designated by the Director, of a
8    municipal organization in Illinois;
9        (9) one person appointed by the Speaker of the House of
10    Representatives;
11        (10) one person appointed by the Minority Leader of the
12    House of Representatives;
13        (11) one person appointed by the President of the
14    Senate; and
15        (12) one person appointed by the Minority Leader of the
16    Senate.
17    (b) The Task Force shall meet at the call of the chair.
18Members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed
19for their reasonable expenses from moneys appropriated for that
20purpose. The Agency shall provide staff and support for the
21operation of the Task Force.
22    (c) The Task Force shall make recommendations to the
23Governor and , the Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency,
24and the Pollution Control Board concerning the adoption of
25rules for building codes and, by January 1, 2013, for radon
26resistant construction in new residential construction.

 

 

09700HB4665ham002- 7 -LRB097 19079 JLS 68047 a

1(Source: P.A. 96-195, eff. 8-10-09.)
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect June 1,
32013, except that this Section and Section 97 take effect upon
4becoming law.".