USEPA, in “Spotlight: Successful Approaches for Reducing Radon Risk,” noted the success of the West Virginia Radon Program in continuing to identify opportunities to enhance the state’s school radon testing program required by law, including conducting outreach to maintenance supervisors across 13 counties regarding school testing requirements. During this reporting cycle, 39 schools were tested, one school was mitigated, and two additional schools are evaluating HVAC systems and determining if mitigation is necessary.
West Virginia requires that school buildings and additions opened for operation after July 1, 1994, and any new school buildings or additions built after that date, are to be tested for radon pursuant to such EPA procedures and regulations prescribed by the Board of Education.
Each school is required to maintain files of their radon test results. Reference: Code of Virginia Section § 22.1-138. Minimum Standards for Public School Buildings.
As of 2021, the overall radon testing compliance rate among Virginia schools is greater than 90%. In general, radon test results for the vast majority of school classrooms in Virginia are below the EPA action level of 4.0 pCi/L. For the few classrooms that have shown elevated radon levels, the problem was usually solved by making adjustments to the school’s HVAC system. However, in some cases the HVAC adjustments were not successful and a radon mitigation system was installed to reduce the radon to acceptable levels. Newer schools with state-of-the-art HVAC and ventilation systems rarely show radon problems.
Sources:
West Virginia Radon Program
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/radiological-health/indoor-radon-program/radon-in-schools/
Overview of EPA’s State Indoor Radon Grants Program: A Focus on Activities Conducted during 2021 https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-02/final-2021-annual-sirg-activities-report-508c.pdf
United States