By Katherine Funderburg
Sitting in wait is a possibly life saving bill that will not come up today, this bill is covering an issue plaguing Texas households, a silent killer of Texans: Radon poisoning. “Radon poisoning is a serious problem. There are over 20,000 deaths that occur annually due to radon poisoning. Some symptoms are cancers, pneumonia, bronchitis, and coughing. If this bill is passed, the residents of Texas will not be exposed to radon poisoning in their homes.” Nickhil Dimri, of Midland Lee High School of the Midland YMCA delegation, said. According to Dimri, he is nowhere close to the docket, but yesterday passed in committee.
Radon is a radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. Radon poisoning can lead to the development of lung cancer if the concentration is above 2.0 pCi/L. This bill will help prevent radon poisoning by requiring home inspectors to inform the owner of the Radon level.
The owners will have to bring down the home to the required level if it exceeds 4.0 to ensure the buyer’s health is not harmed. When the home inspection occurs when selling a house, the inspector must inform the owner of a radon level that exceeds 2.0 pCi/L.
If a home seller fails to address a radon problem before the new residents occupy the house, then the seller will be issued a 90-day warning before they are issued a $500 fine. If another 90 days (180 days in total) passes without the problem being resolved, the second fine of $1,000 will be issued. If the seller does not meet the required radon level for the home by 270 days (the third offense), a fine of $1,500 will be issued and repeat every 90 days until the seller corrects the house’s radon level.