Government Operations

GAO discussed: (1) the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) radon-testing policy for HUD-assisted housing; and (2) federal agencies' efforts to reduce radon hazards at federal facilities. GAO noted that: (1) 22 agencies reported the results of radon testing at their facilities to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including 10 that submitted partial results and were continuing to test buildings and some that were taking mitigation actions to protect federal workers; (2) some agencies did not use EPA-approved radon detectors, had significant detector losses, and did not follow EPA recommended testing procedures; (3) the agencies did not have procedures for retesting, since they did not anticipate the possibility of lost detectors, although it could affect the overall reliability of radon studies; and (4) HUD concluded that it needed to conduct a 4-year research program before it could design a cost-effective policy for radon testing and mitigation, since it lacked information on testing radon in multifamily housing.