Radon in NH: Test. Fix. Save a Life.

Radon Overview, NH Program Initiatives, and a Community Advocate's Perspective Join Mary Butow, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS), and Tom Jarvela, Community Advocate, for a conversation about radon in NH and what you can do to protect yourself and your family. In her presentation, Mary will provide a brief introduction to radon, review its health effects, regulatory framework and current initiatives for the program. The presentation information is designed to make community members aware of resources for testing and mitigating radon and how they might partner with the program to increase homeowner and renter awareness of environmental hazards. The talk will also help residents to recognize the exposure routes for radon and typical methods of treating both air and water. In his presentation, Tom will share about how he became a community advocate, including his experience with testing and treating for radon. He will give a brief overview of the website he developed to help raise awareness about radon and let library patrons across the state know about which libraries currently have programs to lend handheld continuous radon monitors (HCRMs). Mary Butow is the Radon Program Manager with the NH Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS). In her current role, she oversees implementation of NH's State and Tribal Indoor Radon Grants (SIRG) program grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including responding to community concerns and promoting testing and mitigation of radon. Most recently she was a Human Health Risk Assessor with the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Environmental Health Program. In her role at NHDES, she formulated health-based standards for chemicals in drinking water, and examined technical literature, environmental sampling data and reports to identify chemical contaminants which may pose a risk to human health. Tom Jarvela is a New Hampshire native living in Stratham with his wife and two young children. Wearing many volunteer hats, he serves as the head coach of the Exeter Granite State Track program, volunteers as an educator at the Great Bay Discovery Center, and advocated for sustainable commuting as a former advisory board member of Commute Smart Seacoast. In 2021, his family discovered that their home in Stratham had very elevated levels of radon. Having remediated their own radon issues, he founded radonlibrary.com, an organization dedicated to working collaboratively with libraries to promote radon awareness in the granite state.