The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated January 2010 as National Radon Action Month. The aim of National Radon Action Month was to increase the public’s awareness of radon, promote radon testing and mitigation, and advance the use of radon-resistant new construction practices. While January has come and gone, the message is critically important for school districts and other building owners.
What is Radon?
Radon is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas that causes no immediate health symptoms but medium and long-term exposures can cause lung cancer. Its presence in homes, daycare centers, schools and other buildings can pose a danger to your health. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually. There is no truly “safe” level or radon; however the risk decreases as the radon concentration decreases. Radon comes from the breakdown of uranium inside the earth. Testing can reveal the amount of radon in any building. Buildings with high levels of radon can usually be fixed with simple and affordable venting techniques.
EPA information - www.epa.gov/radon/index.html
Homes, Child Care Centers, Educational Facilities (Schools) and other buildings regularly occupied by people should be tested for radon.
In New Jersey, the NJDEP has developed regulations and guidance regarding how to properly test for and mitigate radon problems in buildings, which may be found at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/sr_treq.htm.
On September 8, 2009, the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services (NJDHSS) implemented Indoor Environmental Health Assessment (IEHA) regulations, http://www.state.nj.us/health/iep/ccc_interim_guidance.shtml which apply to Child Care Centers and Schools. The IEHA requires documentation of any environmental issues that may affect the indoor air quality within the building. An integral aspect of that documentation includes radon testing Any previous radon testing reports must meet the current NJDEP radon testing requirements to document that a radon hazard is not present in the building. The NJDHSS will rely on this and other information when deciding whether to issue a Safe Building Interior Certificate.
In an increasing number of cases, GSE has found that previous radon testing reports lack sufficient information to meet the NJDEP requirements and therefore won’t meet the requirements of the IEHA. Examples of common deficiencies include, too few radon tests based on the building layout, no diagrams to certify testing locations, no information about environmental controls during testing, precise times of canister deployment and retrieval, etc.
GSE has conducted environmental, health and safety audits for several school districts and has seen mixed results regarding the quality of past radon testing reports. A law requiring radon testing in public school buildings was adopted September, 2000, but in August, 2004 was struck down as an “unfunded mandate.” Some school districts responded to these regulations by having either in-house personnel, or a consultant, conduct comprehensive radon testing and any recommended radon mitigation work, while others have done limited testing, or, in some cases, no testing at all. This mixed response was partially due to the confusion caused by the eliminating the testing regulations.
Now radon testing in schools is voluntary, unless the school is in a building with a former high hazard use, or is on an environmentally contaminated site. In such situations, if a construction permit is needed for the reconstruction, alteration, conversion or repair of a building to be used as a Child Care Center or School, radon testing is required as part of the overall IEHA.
Everyone, including Child Care Centers operators and School officials, are strongly encouraged to review their radon testing reports to make sure they are complete and meet the NJDEP’s most recent testing regulations. Any follow-up testing, or mitigation work, should be fully documented. These steps will help make sure that radon risks are minimized.
If you have any questions about radon, or if you would like to know if your current radon testing reports meet the current IEHA requirements, you can contact GSE at info@GSEConsultants.com.