· Updated: Dec. 20, 2024, 11:40 a.m.
· |Published: Dec. 19, 2024, 6:00 a.m.
By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com
A study released this month suggests children at five Lehigh Valley school districts could be at risk for radon exposure.
The research letter published Dec. 3 in JAMA Network Open predicts radon levels could be above safe levels for children in Allentown and Bethlehem area schools. The study suggest levels could be very high for schools in the Northampton Area, Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh school districts.
Officials in each of the five districts indicated they recently tested for radon or plan to test soon. They unanimously agreed radon is a concern that should be taken seriously.
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. behind only smoking, according to Beth A. Tarini. She’s a doctor and health services researcher with Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. She compiled the research with retired Muhlenberg College public health professor Chrysan Cronin and Moravian Academy student Brian Yang.
They collected data on radon levels measured in home basements by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from 1990 through 2022. They correlated this information with the zip codes of local public schools.
They found radon radiation levels at most Allentown and Bethlehem Area schools are likely to fall between 5 and 7 picocuries per liter of air. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said any level above 4 isn’t safe, and measures should be taken to vent high levels of radon.
The study found that radon levels at the other three school districts could go as high as 20 picocuries per liter.
A child in a classroom hotspot could face lengthy exposures each day multiplied over years. Connie Andrejko was shocked to read the study. She’s a pediatrician and neo- natologist who lives in Upper Saucon Township and contracts with St. Luke’s University Health Network.
“I thought, ‘My God this is my school district,’” she said.
Long-term exposure heightens the risk for cancer, according to Garry Ritter, the associate director for environmental health at the Allentown Health Bureau. The longer you wait to test, the more potential exposure a child faces.
“It’s not something you want to fool around with,” Ritter said.
Southern Lehigh School District Superintendent Michael Mahon said the study has prompted the district to arrange for radon testing in its schools.
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“We are taking this matter seriously,” he said. “We are also committed to being fully transparent regarding both the results and the mitigation measures, if any, required as a result of the testing.”
A home in Upper Saucon Township within the Southern Lehigh district set the state record for radon in 2016 with 6,176 picocuries per liter.
Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael Faccinetto asked the district facilities director to investigate further.
Northampton Area School District Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik said schools have been tested for radon in the past and some radon systems are built into them. He said the district has a 20-year partnership with an air-quality consultant.
“They can assist us with this concern,” he said.
Northwestern Lehigh Superintendent Jennifer Holman said her district tests for radon in schools every three years.
“We performed sampling as recently as June 2022 and all classrooms measured during the test were all below the PA DEP screening guidelines,” she said.
The Allentown School District tested for radon in 2017, according to spokeswoman Melissa Reese.
“Six schools had areas ... where radon concentrations measured near or slightly above the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection guidelines; however, none of the levels posed an immediate health risk, per our licensed environmental professionals,” she said.
Reese said the school district started another round of radon tests on Tuesday. Those tests are slated to wrap up Feb. 7. The district plans to keep testing every two years, Reese said.
JAMA Network Open is a member of the Journal of the American Medical Association network of peer-reviewed, general medical and specialty publications, Tarini said.
You can read the study on the JAMA Network Open website.
“Radon is a carcinogen and the second leading cause of lung cancer,” Tarini told lehighvalleylive.com. “Therefore, exposure to radon above recommended levels should be mitigated. The exposure level is best determined by radon testing.”
Andrejko and the participants in the study are lobbying state legislators to mandate radon testing in schools.
“It’s a known carcinogen. Please protect our children because they spend a good amount of their lives at school,” Andrejko said.
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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.