Phil Chiles, ABR, CRS, GRI, has been named to represent the state’s REALTORS® on a panel charged with making recommendations on how to implement the state’s new Radon Resistant Construction Act.

Phil ChilesChiles is treasurer of the Illinois Association of REALTORS® and a broker-associate with the Real Estate Group in Springfield. He was nominated for the post on the Radon Resistant Building Codes Task Force on July 26 by IAR President Loretta Alonzo, CRB, GRI, and Broker-Owner of Century 21 Alonzo & Associates in La Grange Park.

The legislation requires all new residential construction in the state to include radon mitigation measures after June 1, 2013. The 12-member board on which Chiles is to serve is tasked with providing recommendations on the policy to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Jan. 1, 2013. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has oversight of the policy’s implementation.

Radon is a leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and a primary risk in homes according to the Harvard School of Public Health. It’s a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that occurs naturally as radioactive elements in the earth decay.

For Chiles, who is a homebuilder and a REALTOR®, the standards outlined in the act make sense. For years he’s been including the passive radon mitigation systems in the homes he builds.

“We see this as a selling point,” Chiles said. “It’s in our interest because it is in the buyer’s or seller’s interest.”

The passive radon mitigation systems typically include pipe that vents radon fumes from beneath a home’s foundation and out through an opening in the roof. Chiles said installing a radon system in a new home typically costs $750 to $800, and retrofitting an existing home can cost around $1,000.

In the nomination letter Alonzo noted Chiles’ experience in real estate.

“I am confident that Phil Chiles will prove to be knowledgeable and a hard-working member of the Task Force,” Alonzo wrote.