EPA urges schools to check for radon

In April recommended that schools test their facilities for radioactive radon gas after examining preliminary test data from 130 schools scattered across the country which indicated that elevated radon levels may be at least as prevalent in schools as in private residences. EPA is recommending that schools test 100 percent of frequently-used rooms on the basement-level and ground-level floors. The agency also recommends that testing be conducted in the cooler months of the year when doors and windows are likely to be closed. As part of a study to gather more information about measuring radon in schools, EPA tested approximately 3000 classrooms in 16 states. The states are widely distributed across the country. Of the total number of rooms, 54 percent had at least one room with a radon level above four picocuries per liter of air pCi/L. Nineteen percent had radon levels above four pCi/L. Three percent of the classrooms measured had radon level over 20 pCi/L. Each of the 16 states had a school with one measurement over four pCi/L, and one school had levels as high as 136 pCi/L