Element of Risk: The Politics of Radon

This calm, thoughtful book deserves a wide audience. Since the 1980s, when elevated concentrations of radon were found in certain U.S. homes, the gas has been the focus of an ``imbalanced'' debate among scientists and policymakers, writes political scientist Cole ( Clouds of Secrecy ) . The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), citing radon-induced lung-cancer deaths, has urged voluntary testing of homes; skeptical scientists claim that the gas poses virtually no health risk. Drawing on some 200 interviews, Cole documents the one-sidedness of public discussion, as evinced by a Congress unwilling to listen to dissenters, an EPA that exaggerates dangers and a press that echoes establishment views. The author deplores the lack of open debate in formulating radon policies, and he reveals the politics behind the issue, which first surfaced in the Reagan era. ``Radon seemed an ideal issue for a conservative administration in need of a better environmental image,'' according to Cole. ``The radioactive gas was business friendly insofar as it is a natural phenomenon and not usually related to industrial activities.'' (June)