Advocates push for support of radon testing in schools

Advocates pushed on Monday for legislative support for a new iteration of a proposed bill that would mandate radon testing in Pennsylvania schools.

Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, executive director of Pittsburgh-based Women for a Healthy Environment, urged lawmakers to pass the legislation this year during a press conference at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. She called it a long-term solution to addressing the environmental hazard in school buildings.

“With our aging infrastructure across Pennsylvania, we know that these older school buildings tend to have more structural issues that may more easily allow radon to enter into the building,” she said. “We are talking about a carcinogen that people can be exposed to everyday.”

Radon is an odorless, colorless gas that is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, causing an estimated 21,000 deaths annually in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association. Despite its prevalence in Western Pennsylvania, 70% of schools in the region do not test for it, a 2022 Tribune-Review investigation found. Over the past decade, versions of at least five mandated testing bills in schools have failed to come to fruition.

Radon seeps into basements through cracks in walls, foundations and other openings. Pennsylvania has the third-highest level of radon in the country and children are particularly vulnerable, the investigation found.

State Rep. Tim Briggs, D-Mongtomery County, has led those previous efforts to mandate testing and is trying again, calling the legislation a top priority for him.

“For teachers and students who spend seven, eight, nine hours a day in a school building that could be causing them harm should concern us all,” he said.

Related:

• Pennsylvania schools don’t test for radon, despite high levels in the state
• What’s the holdup? Some say radon legislation in Pa. comes down to politics; others say it’s the money
• Radon risks: For children, the concern over the odorless gas outweigh that for adults

His proposed legislation would mandate testing in schools every five years. If radon levels exceed what the federal government has deemed safe then there should be mitigation, he said.

“We have a surplus that we could tap into and we also have federal dollars that are specifically for children’s health in schools,” he said.

State Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, said he plans to work with his colleagues to gather support for the measure.

“It’s time Pennsylvania does something to protect our children and require this important testing like roughly one-third of other states already do,” he said.

Advocates in Harrisburg Monday said testing isn’t expensive and could prevent high health care costs for school staff and students. For children, the risk of developing radon-induced cancer later in life is twice as high as adults with the same exposure because youngsters’ quickly changing bodies and rapid breathing rates translate into larger doses of radiation, according to research.

Naccarati-Chapkis said advocates are excited to have support across party lines in both the House and Senate.

“We simply cannot wait for the safety of our children and school staff who spend well over 1,000 hours a year … in our schools,” she said.