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 .