By Rep. Paul Anderson
According to testimony heard in the Housing Committee last week, more people in the United States die each year from lung cancer caused by exposure to radon gas than are killed in car crashes. And Minnesota has one of the highest rates in the nation. It’s estimated that 40 percent of Minnesota homes have elevated levels of radon.
For those reasons and because a beautiful lady from Glenwood died this past year from lung cancer caused by exposure to radon, I have introduced a bill in the Legislature to make sure all homes in our state are tested for the deadly gas when they are sold. Janet Thompson lived and worked in the area for many years before being diagnosed with the deadly disease. She passed away last summer.
The bill is HF 816 and is known at “Janet’s Law.” It simply says that when the ownership of a residential home is transferred, it must be tested for the presence of radon. The gas itself is caused by the natural breakdown of uranium in the soil, and its level varies in different parts of the state. When uranium breaks down, radon gas is a byproduct and can seep into homes through cracks or other openings in the foundation. Again, from testimony given by officials from the Department of Health, approximately one in seven homes in the state has already been tested for the gas, and of those, one in three has elevated levels. The test, estimated to cost less than $10, is easy to do. The measuring device is hung in the home for three to five days, and then it’s sent to a lab for analysis. A number higher than four “picocuries” indicates the level is high.
I want to work with all parties involved in real estate to make this testing procedure work. The bill will start the committee process with its first hearing either this week or next.
Wolf-hunt issues resurface
A bill was introduced in the state Senate last week that would put a stop to Minnesota’s one-year old wolf hunt. The animal came off the endangered species list two years ago, and the state conducted its first hunting and trapping season this past fall and winter. The season ended when the quota of 400 animals was nearly reached. This new legislation, SF 666, reinstates a five-year period during which no hunt can be conducted. After that, a hunt can only be held “if population management is deemed necessary and other means for controlling the wolf population are explored.”
It surprised me that three of the bill’s authors reside in the metropolitan area and the other is from Rochester.
Local town hall meetings
Senator Torrey Westrom and I have planned a series of town hall meetings for the second Saturday in March. We will be stopping in Glenwood, Melrose, Freeport, and Albany, beginning at the Lakeside Ballroom in Glenwood at 9 a.m. on March 9. We’ll head east to Melrose later that morning, and then finish up after lunch at Freeport and Albany. Residents are encouraged to meet with us and share their concerns. The Senator and I will give a review of what’s happening in St. Paul, as well. We will also be meeting the afternoon before, on March 8, in Sauk Centre at a gathering hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Additional information will be in next week’s column.
—30—