DATE: September 15, 1998 CONTACT:Suki Casanave 603-862-3102

MEDIA ADVISORY: NATIONAL RADON REPORT RELEASED TODAY: UNH PROFESSOR POINTS TO EFFECT ON SMALL NEW ENGLAND COMMUNITIES DURHAM, NH -- Nancy Kinner, professor of civil engineering at the University of New Hampshire, is a member of a committee that authored a national study entitled "Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water" for the National Research Council. The report is being released today at 5 pm. Requested by Congress, the study found that drinking water that contains radon is much less of a health risk than inhaling radon. Radon in household water supplies increases people's overall exposure to the gas, the report says, but waterborne radon poses few risks to human health. "Nationwide, much more radon enters households through soil beneath the home than through water supplies," says Kinner. "However in New England there are many water supplies--particularly in small towns--that have high levels of radon that require treatment." The report recommends that the government and water suppliers work together to develop strategies that limit potentially harmful amounts of radon in homes, whether the source is water or air. For more information on the "Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water" report, check the Web site: . For copies of the report, contact the National Academy Press: 1-800-624-6242. For more information--and for a New England perspective--on the radon report, contact Nancy Kinner: 603-862-1422. ###