Radon in Schools: A Brief Review of State Laws and Regulations in the United States

Gordon, Kelsey; Terry, Paul; Liu, Xingxing; Harris, Tiffany G.; Vowell, Don; Yard, Bud; Chen, Jiangang

doi:10.3390/ijerph15102149

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…If the public truly understood the potential health risks, better stewardship or private wells would certainly ensue. 12 Using the example of indoor radon regulation in various American state governments by strong enforcement in schools and other public places, 37 the Newfoundland and Labrador government can make it mandatory requiring all private well owners to have full water testing completed. In this scenario, the mandate is strongly enforced on a biennial schedule.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring relevance, public perceptions, and business models for establishment of private well water quality monitoring service

Thomson

Rahman

Cooper

et al. 2019

Health Planning & Management

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Summary Existing public policies mostly focus on public water systems, leaving aside the quality issues regarding private wells in small and rural locations. Establishment of affordable and accessible water quality monitoring services may ensure acceptable levels of all the parameters. This paper aims to explore (a) health risk because of chemical contaminants of private wells, (b) population perspective on well water quality and monitoring, and (c) to create a business model of a centralized water quality monitoring service. The results show potential problems with toxic levels of arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium. About 5% of the province's population is at risk for potential exposure to contaminated private well water. The survey reinforces that the successful implementation of water testing laboratories for private wells is a shared responsibility between well owners and the government organizations, and almost three‐fourths respondents were willing to share the cost up to certain limit. A business model including financial projections for a centralized water testing laboratory is presented. Drinking of unmonitored private well water is putting population health at risk. Either strong regulation with mandatory water testing or voluntary water testing with adequate government subsidy can ensure sustainable function of a centralized water testing laboratory.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring relevance, public perceptions, and business models for establishment of private well water quality monitoring service

Thomson

Rahman

Cooper

et al. 2019

Health Planning & Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…School maintenance and custodial workers may be particularly at risk because they are more likely to spend time in basements, tunnels, and other underground areas. To date there is little published data on workers' radon exposures in schools, and few states currently require testing of schools [32]. To address these issues, we recommend additional research to understand occupational radon exposures to school employees, including teachers, administrators, staff, and maintenance/custodians.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address these issues, we recommend additional research to understand occupational radon exposures to school employees, including teachers, administrators, staff, and maintenance/custodians. In addition, Gordon et al [32] outline several recommendations that could be amended to serve as a framework for state-specific policies to protect school employees as well as students.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Next to the home, children and school employees spend more time at school than in any other microenvironment [ 30 , 31 ]. For grade school-age children (prekindergarten to 5th grade), who are more likely to spend their school day in a single classroom, this can be six hours per day or more, depending on participation in after school programs [ 30 , 32 ], and nine hours per day or more for teachers [ 33 ]. However, whereas students will likely only spend one school year in a given classroom for prekindergarten to 5th grade, or one period per day in a given classroom for their middle and high school years, teachers, administrators, and staff may spend several years to decades in the same room at the school.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah’s Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students

Davis

Chausow

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Radon (²²²Rn), a radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. Classroom radon concentrations in public schools in our target area had never been measured or had not been measured in many years. We had university students, primarily enrolled in environmental health courses, measure radon concentrations in 2289 classrooms in 66 of Utah’s public schools and identify school characteristics associated with classroom radon concentrations. The geometric mean (GM) classroom radon concentration was 31.39 (95% confidence interval (CI): 27.16, 36.28) Bq/m3 (GM: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.98 pCi/L). Thirty-seven (2%) classrooms in 13 (20%) schools had radon concentrations at or above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recommended action level of 148 Bq/m3 (4.0 pCi/L). Number of classrooms had a u-shaped association with classroom radon concentrations. The year the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system was installed was inversely associated with having classroom radon concentrations at or above the EPA’s recommended action level. Number of classrooms and number of students had u-shaped associations with having classroom radon concentrations at or above the EPA’s recommended action level. Classroom radon concentrations decreased when schools’ HVAC systems were on. Replacing HVAC systems and turning/keeping them on may be effective radon mitigation strategies to prevent radon-associated lung cancer, especially for small and large schools.

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“…However, 37 states in the United States do not have legislation that mandates monitoring of radon levels in schools. Of the states with radon legislation, only nine have laws requiring testing, whereas four others have legislation describing radon testing as "recommended," "encouraged," or "voluntary" (Gordon et al, 2018). In addition, only five of the states that require radon testing also require mitigation if levels are elevated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radon From the Ground into Our Schools: Parent and Guardian Awareness of Radon

et al. 2020

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Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Exposure in schools may be harmful to schoolchildren and staff. However, states differ considerably in their approaches to mandating radon testing and mitigaiton in schools. In this study, 126 survey responses were received and analyzed from parents of K-12 children in Vermont, USA. Qualitative data were obtained by interviewing two parents for their views and concerns about radon in schools. Our results showed that only 51% of parents believed that radon affects the lungs and only 39% identified it as a carcinogen. 91% believed their children’s schools should act to address elevated radon levels and 87% supported mandated mitigation. These data suggest that there is already overwhelming support for radon regulation in schools among parents of K-12 children. Parents with children in elementary school were significantly more likely to support radon testing, mitigation, and legislation than parents with older children. This suggests that these parents may be strong advocates to encourage legislative action. Parents with more knowledge about radon were significantly more likely to support radon testing in schools. Educating parents about exposure to radon at school and its association with lung cancer could strengthen existing community support for legislation mandating radon testing and mitigation.

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Radon in Schools: A Brief Review of State Laws and Regulations in the United States

Cited by 26 publications

References 21 publications

Exploring relevance, public perceptions, and business models for establishment of private well water quality monitoring service

Exploring relevance, public perceptions, and business models for establishment of private well water quality monitoring service

Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah’s Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students

Radon From the Ground into Our Schools: Parent and Guardian Awareness of Radon

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