Radon Testers and Mitigators Get Ready

Radon testers, and mitigators, need Kentucky state certification starting July 1.

It’s for real this time.

Radon testers, and mitigators, need state licenses starting July 1.

The licenses are called “certification,” another word for licensing.
This time it’s for real. After a notorious series of misfires, certification is coming to town.
Radon certification was first required in Kentucky effective July 15, 1998 under KRS 211.856, 211.857, and 211.858, repealed by 11 RS HB247. That turned about to be much ado about nothing.
The “new” certification law, KRS 211.9101 to 211.9135, passed in 2011, known as 11 RS HB247. It required certification beginning January 1, 2013. But there were no regulations spelling out how to get certification until Sept. 17, 2014.

Read the full regulations here:  Radon Regulations

Now the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), which administers the law, says it will accept applications to get certified starting July 1, 2015.
The law requires “certification” as a radon “contractor” to “conduct” radon measurements. LRS 211.9107. That apparently includes dropping off or picking up radon measurement devices. But more on that in a moment.
The regulation adds that radon test results may not be “reported or disclosed to another party” unless they were tested by a certified contractor. 902 KAR 95:040 Sec. 2(4). No such language is in the law. It looks like an effort to let CHFS keep handing out free radon measurement test kits to untrained civilians, despite the statute’s flat prohibition against “conducting” radon measurement without certification. The idea would be people could conduct their own radon measurement, with CHFS free kits, but they could not tell anyone – like a buyer in a real estate sale. Kinda weird.
Certificates will cost $250 a year, the same as a home inspector license. Except radon certification has to be renewed annually, which is a little odd. It is hard to see anything gained by annual renewal.
Home inspectors do more to alert Kentuckians about radon risks than any other group, by far. Home inspectors also do far more radon indoor air measurements. It’s not even close. Not that the new certification rules show any sign of that. They don’t. But we’ll cope.
Most existing radon measurement specialists will be “semi-grandfathered” — but with a catch.
Most existing testers can skip the national exam they already passed, but that’s the only free pass. Everyone will also need a class on the new rules, plus insurance, and paperwork that includes a “quality control plan.”
New folks can take a national class and exam now to get certified July 1.
Getting a certificate takes more paperwork, including a $500,000 general liability insurance policy. (Even though there is no reported $500,000 general liability claim against any radon tester, anywhere, ever. Or a $50,000 claim – one tenth that. There is not even a $5,000 claim. And the general liability insurance required for home inspectors is half that, $250,000.)
The testers will be called certified “radon measurement contractors.” Mitigators get called certified radon mitigation contractors.” We’ll call them “radon contractors,” for short.
Contractor licenses – make that “certifications” – will be issued by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Department of Health (DFH).
Application forms were adopted with the regulation controlling radon certification, 902 KAR 95:040. The forms also are available from PLI by mail or online.
Existing NRSB (National Radon Safety Board) or NRPP (National Radon Proficiency Program) certified measurement specialists, and mitigation specialists, will be “semi-grandfathered.” NRSB or NRPP courses and national exams they took will be accepted for certification. They will not have to do it over. But they still will have to do the rest of the paperwork, including the insurance – and a one-hour “orientation” course to get acquainted with the new Kentucky certification law and regulation.
New contractors will have to take the NRSB or NRPP certification course and pass either one of the national exams. (PLI instructors have passed both exams and discusses the differences in class.)
Either “semi-grandfathered” or new, the paperwork includes a “quality control” plan.
The QC plan is stunningly long-winded under the regulation. Worse, the requirements almost totally ignore the EPA guidelines. The EPA gets mentioned just once. Instead, they focus on private trade association standards – that already are out of date (MAH 2005 v. 2015), and sometimes different from the EPA.
Worse still, the QC regulation pays zero attention to radon contractor liability and negligence exposure.
Contractors need to remember that QC plans become ways to assert negligence and liability. They are not just lab protocols. But the authors of this part of the regulation seem clueless about those problems.
PLI includes a Model QC Plan as part of its courses. It is designed not just to satisfy requirements of the regulation – but also to management liability issues too.

Want to test for radon, or get certified? You know PLI has got your back.
PLI also has the classes.
None of the junk classes some are rolling out. To get the real deal, pick the classes that serves you best:
To enroll for the national exam and 2-day class.
To enroll for the required 1-hour orientation course on the new law and regulations.
To enroll for 8-hour or 16-hour radon CE to keep your existing NRSB/NRPP certification.
Call Now:  502-896-2020  class size are limited.

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