Welcome

On behalf of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc. (CRCPD), the Board of Directors, the Office of the Executive Director, and the CRCPD E25 Committee on Radon it is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to the Annual National Radon Training Event.

The unprecedented times of the past 1 1/2 years have been challenging for all of us. Many of our federal, state, and tribal radon programs have been challenged with the dual roles of responding to a public health pandemic and continuing to maintain their radon program objectives while dealing with family and personnel health issues, dwindling resources, and limitations in the ability to interact with others. The innovations which have been developed and incorporated into our daily lives to meet challenges and keep moving forward during this pandemic have been creative and very successful. The only way we can continue to be successful in this environment is through ongoing communication and partnerships at all levels of government and with the private sector, professional organizations, and academia. It is essential to continue the successes already realized and to create new relationships to overcome the challenges ahead. We are very appreciative of the continued support provided by our Federal and organizational partners.

To open the National Radon Training Event, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Locke, a professor at John Hopkins University, will provide the keynote address. Dr. Locke's presentation "Preventing Radon-related Lung Cancer - A Strategy for the Next 35 Year", is sure to be informative, inspirational, and goal-oriented.

The CRCPD E-25 Committee and Advisors developed this year’s program to highlight the hard work of many of our federal, state, and tribal radon programs, researchers, and private industry partners during these tumultuous times. CRPCD staff, Ruth McBurney, Mendy Cremeans, Bruce Hirschler, Sharon Bowen, and Missy Hyslop, and our CRCPD Environmental Chairperson, Karen Tuccillo have worked very hard to pivot what we hoped to be a face to face meeting to a virtual event in a very short time period. We are excited about the lineup of distinguished presenters that will update us on a wide variety of radon topics. There is something for everybody scheduled and though some sessions are pre-recorded, we have scheduled question and answer times when the speakers will be available live to respond to questions.

A special thanks to the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST) who understood CRCPD's need to move our portion of the joint training event to a virtual format due to travel restrictions on federal, state, local, and tribal radon programs. Their hard work and flexibility will allow us to still share the joint day together (although virtually for us) that we all know is critical to everyone in the radon community.

I hope you will take full advantage of the sessions and enjoy joining AARST virtually from their live conference in Maryland. Thanks for your participation and I look forward to "seeing" you during the week.

Chrystine Kelley
CRCPD E-25 Chairperson