Daily Herald opinion: Despite dangers of radon, only a handful of local schools follow guidelines for testing
Schools understandably complain often about the burdens of government regulation, but their response to concerns about the dangers of radon exposure provides a vivid example of why mandates are sometimes needed.
The Illinois State Board of Education recommends that schools test for radon exposure levels every five years, and a 2009 law requires that the levels be reported to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Yet, a survey conducted by our watchdog editor Jake Griffin found that only 15 of 100 area school districts have bothered to conduct the relatively inexpensive tests on that timetable.
The predominant attitude of school districts appears to be that of a homeowner unwilling to shell out the money needed to buy a smoke alarm or a park district unwilling to hire swimming lifeguards or, at minimum, drivers who would balk at the cost of installing seat belts in their vehicles.
And those are relevant comparisons. The U.S. EPA says prolonged atmospheric exposure to 4 picocuries of radon, the limit defined by state health officials, poses a risk of getting cancer equal to the chances of dying in a car accident. At higher levels, the cancer risk can be comparable to dying in a fire or drowning.
The EPA and U.S. Surgeon General estimate that radon exposure is responsible for 21,000 cancer deaths a year.
Are these standards we should accept regarding the health of teachers and students? Thankfully, some school districts answer decidedly no.
"We wanted to make sure everyone's safe. That's our priority," Superintendent Jason Lind told Griffin regarding the $11,345 spent to fix radon-exposure issues in one of Millburn District 24's elementary schools.
But too few districts share that thinking, despite the almost trifling costs of testing and repairs. Geneva Unit District 304 spent $12,200 to test six of its 11 buildings in 2021 and $6,914 to address problems that were found, according to Griffin's report.
It is unsettling to note that those districts that do conduct tests often find elevated radon levels and confounding to compare these experiences with the success of remediation.
"These radon mitigation systems are pretty dependable, and once they're installed, they work," said Dan Potter, of DuPage Radon Contractors.
Radon is easily detected. Elevated levels are cheap to fix. Exposure presents significant, identifiable health risks. What in that formula justifies failure to test for problems and address those that are found?
Yet, 85% of local school districts haven't conducted the testing, because it is recommended and not required. Perhaps that is a situation that needs to be changed.