Description of the New Jersey State Department of Health's voluntary radon exposure registry program

In New Jersey the widespread occurrence of high indoor radon levels has raised the concerns of State officials and residents. Based on data from several thousand homes which have been tested for radon many homes have been screened at greater than 200 rhoCi/l. Monitoring for radon in New Jersey began in 1985. The Departments of Health and Environmental Protection (NJDOH, NJDEP) are actively advising New Jersey residents to test, conducting several programs aimed at educating residents about the danger of radon, and convincing them to screen and remediate their home. NJDEP as the lead agency in the State radon program is responsible for confirmatory monitoring and for follow-up testing for radon after remediation. They promote the major preventive activities for protecting health from radon exposure via identification of elevated radon levels, and remediation of these homes. New Jersey State Department of Health (NJDOH) functions in a supportive capacity conducting a multi-faceted program focusing on the health aspects of indoor radon. Remediation activities alone may not adequately address the concerns of people who have discovered previous long-term exposure to elevated radon levels and increased risk of developing lung cancer because of that exposure. Therefore the New Jersey voluntary radon exposure registry application is provided to those residents previously exposed to significantly elevated radon levels in order to inform them of new medical advances which might be effective in preventing lung cancer mortality and morbidity. Although most people with high radon exposures will not develop lung cancer, NJDOH wishes to provide residents with every practical opportunity to decrease the risk