NEHA and NEHA-NRPP History

The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) has a history dating back to 1937 for developing and administering national credentials in environmental health. Through years of experience NEHA has demonstrated that a successful credential program must involve both a policy board and a technical board. 

First, the public has to have confidence that the credentialing body is developing and executing policies that are impartial and in the best interest of the consumer. Secondly, the public has to have confidence that certified individuals have the technical skills to adequately perform the services for which the credential attests they are capable. Any misgivings that a consumer may have regarding the credential or the individual can easily detract from the perception of a need to treat the hazard, particularly in the field of radon due to the voluntary nature of the program in many jurisdictions.

In 1986, the US EPA (EPA) began a proficiency program for all companies involved in the field of radon measurement.  This program was called the Radon Measurement Proficiency (RMP) and was administered by Research Triangle Institute (RTI).  In the early 1990s, EPA developed a program for measurement and mitigation individuals (the RMP for individuals and Radon Contractor Proficiency, RCP).  A third party, ICF Consulting Group, administered these individual proficiency programs.  In 1995, the two programs for individuals and the RMP for companies were merged into the National Radon Proficiency Program (RPP), which was administered by Sanford Cohen & Associates (SC&A).  In the mid-1990s EPA made a formal announcement that the RPP was going to be “privatized”. After that announcement NEHA along with a number of other national radon partner organizations participated in stakeholder meetings that were held around the country.  Through these stakeholder meetings the “Draft Criteria for the Certification of Radon Service Providers, the Accreditation of Radon Chambers and Laboratories, and the Approval of Measurement Devices” was developed. NEHA was approached by a significant number of stakeholders in this process expressing support for NEHA involvement in conducting the pilot project of the NRPP in order to provide a means to maintain the public’s confidence in the program.

1998 Pilot Test
In May 1998 NEHA submitted a proposal, modeled after the structure and organization of the EPA RPP, to the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) to pilot test the, “Draft Criteria for the Certification of Radon Service Providers, the Accreditation of Radon Chambers and Laboratories, and the Approval of Measurement Devices”. In August 1998, NEHA entered into an agreement with CRCPD, under a cooperative agreement with the EPA, to pilot test a draft radon proficiency program. At the same time NEHA was undertaking to pilot test the draft criteria document, the EPA closed its national radon proficiency program in compliance with the EPA management decision to have this program administered privately, leaving states and consumers without a national radon proficiency program. Thus the pilot project in a sense took over the EPA program.

This organizational structure has been a part of the NEHA-NRPP policy manual since 2000 and has not changed since the program’s inception in 1998. A similar structure was submitted with NEHA’s proposal to CRCPD. The intent as submitted with that proposal was

“… to provide a means for all stakeholders to participate in the successful operation of the program. The role of the existing NEHA Board will be to provide the legal framework within which the NRPP can operate. The current NEHA Board also provides an upper level to which any Board member or certified individual could appeal on issues of disagreement or decertification issues. However, the NEHA Board will not participate in the day to day operations of program in order to maintain the impartiality of its role.”

The NRPP is a fairly complex program consisting not only of certifying individuals but also approval of devices, accreditation of radon chambers and laboratories, approving trainers, and working with regulated and unregulated jurisdictions. Due to the complexities of this program and the initial objective that the NEHA Board maintain a role of impartiality, a third party administrator for the NRPP was sought. NEHA contracted with Colorado Vintage Companies (CVC) to administer the NEHA-NRPP (a third party administrator of the NEHA-NRPP is identified in the above organizational structure as NEHA-NRPP Support Staff). 

After pilot testing the program for a period of one year, a final report on the operations, policies, and structure of the pilot was submitted to CRCPD in February 2000.  CRCPD accepted the NEHA final report and it’s conclusion that NEHA-NRPP met the standards for a fully operational and effective radon proficiency program as outlined in the Draft Criteria document. Based upon the performance of the NEHA-NRPP during the pilot project, EPA subsequently issued an “equivalency letter” stating that NEHA-NRPP met all operational requirements and was equivalent to the EPA RPP program.  Based upon these favorable reports the operation of the NEHA-NRPP continued.

Administration of the NEHA-NRPP

In 2002 Price Consulting Inc (PCI), owned and operated by Ms. Angel Price of North Carolina, assumed all responsibilities and rights fomerly accorded to CVC with regard to the administration of the NEHA-NRPP.

Neither the NEHA-NRPP policy manual nor organizational structure pertaining to the program changed.

AARST Involvement with the NEHA-NRPP

In September 2005, the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (AARST) purchased PCI, NEHA’s administrator for the NEHA-NRPP. In November 2005, NEHA, AARST, and PCI met face-to-face in Denver, Colorado to discuss and clarify the confusion surrounding the third party contracting of the administration of the NEHA-NRPP. This meeting clarified the various roles of the organizations and was also marked by a mutual resolve to work together to strengthen and improve the NEHA-NRPP.

A joint statement from NEHA and AARST was released on November 4, 2005 indicating that both organizations agreed to recognize each other’s strengths and to play on those strengths to improve the NEHA-NRPP. NEHA recognized that AARST could bring a pool of subject matter experts in radon to keep the program up to date and current. NEHA also recognized that AARST’s daily involvement with the radon industry, policies, and legislation could bring a higher level of recognition to the NEHA-NRPP on a national level. AARST recognized that NEHA’s experiences in credentialing as well as its reputation as a non-partisan entity in the radon industry were invaluable.

Current NEHA-NRPP Structure

Under the cooperative agreement between NEHA and AARST, that was finalized in April 2006, the NEHA-NRPP Director, Angel Price, reports directly to the Executive Director of AARST, Peter Hendrick. The AARST Board has no responsibility or authority over the day-to-day operations of the NEHA-NRPP. The Executive Director of AARST communicates with and resolves issues with NEHA’s Credentialing Coordinator, Heidi Shaw, over the program’s function and integrity. Ms. Shaw serves as a non-voting member to the NEHA-NRPP Policy Advisory Board (PAB)*. Ms. Shaw also serves as the conduit between AARST and the NEHA Board of Directors. The NEHA Board of Directors remains as the oversight for the NEHA-NRPP. This structure is reflected in the organizational structure as illustrated above. Thus, neither the NEHA-NRPP policy manual nor organizational structure pertaining to the program have changed. NEHA’s initial intent to maintain a role of impartiality in the day-to-day operations of the NEHA-NRPP also has remained intact since the programs inception. It should also be noted that NEHA conducts an annual program review of the operation of this program and the performance of AARST and the NEHA-NRPP administrative office. Further NEHA assures that this program is operated with the same quality standards that are the hallmark of all the nationally recognized credentials and certifications offered by NEHA.

Since 2005 when NEHA and AARST entered into a cooperative agreement, the relationship has flourished. The NEHA-NRPP has continued to grow and improve with the addition of two staff members to the NEHA-NRPP North Carolina office and programs enacted that continue to enhance quality control of the administration.  Meetings of the Policy Advisory Board (PAB) have begun to update the Policy Manual and work on such issues as exam updating, compliance, ethics, device approval evaluation, and program recognition of newly promulgated standards.  On this last point, the PAB is looking at new standards and how they may affect education and proficiency requirement (ASTM E2121 and 1465), as well as other new standards that may be promulgated by either ANSI, ASTM, the AARST National Radon Standards Consortium and other recognized consensus standard making bodies).  The AARST Technical and Science Committee has been approved by the PAB to act as the technical review committee for the NEHA-NRPP Device Evaluation Program (a current roster of the AARST TASC is included as Attachment 3). 

*  The NEHA-NRPP Policy Advisory Board (PAB) has the ability to develop and recommend procedures and policies for the operation of the NEHA-NRPP, within the parameters necessary to ensure the legal operation of the program. The PAB can make recommendations and draft policy for review by the NEHA Board of Directors for approval. The PAB consists of the following representatives: PAB Chair (non-voting member), Regulated States, Non-Regulated States, Radon Measurement Field, Radon Mitigation Field, Chambers, Laboratories, Radon Equipment Manufacturers, Trainers, Homes Inspectors, Real Estate Industry, Home Building Industry, Local Government, Consumer Interests, Certification Compliance, Advisory from the EPA (non-voting member), and the NEHA Credentialing Coordinator (non-voting member). A roster of the current PAB members is included as Attachment 2.

Contact Us

The first means of contact for questions as they related to NEHA-NRPP and even the radon field as a whole should be directed to the NEHA-NRPP Executive Director, Angel Price, (800) 269-4174 or angel@neha-nrpp.org. If the inquiry falls outside of Ms. Price’s expertise, she will then follow up with the appropriate party (i.e. Peter Hendrick of AARST, Heidi Shaw of NEHA, the PAB, or some combination of the three entities).

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