A bill that would require new state-funded single-family and two-family residential homes to have radon mitigation systems has unanimously passed a House subcommittee.
The bill would update the state building code to require all construction going forward to include passive radon mitigation systems.
Rep. Hans Wilz, R-Ottumwa, said the vast majority of Iowa home builders are already installing these systems.
“We've got radon happening everywhere. This makes sure that we're doing it in a new home,” Wilz said. “So as we take care of existing structures, ones we build today, we'll have those same safety factors thus lessening the need for it later on.”
Sarah Vanderploeg, a lobbyist with the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, said the rule would only apply to state-funded construction, but the policy would likely trickle down to local building codes.
“The nice thing about it is a lot of smaller cities then adopt the state building code to their own local and so that that gets a lot of people, whatever happens at this level, then has the effect of going down from there,” Vanderploeg said.
The Iowa Radon Survey found more than 70% of Iowa homes have radon at levels the Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking action to reduce. The naturally occurring gas from the ground is a known cause of lung cancer.