Back to School, Back to Clean Air: Why Indoor Air Quality and Radon Mitigation in Schools Help
September marks the return of busy hallways, classrooms filled with eager students, and the start of another school year. But while parents and educators focus on books, supplies, and lesson plans, one critical factor often goes unnoticed: the air students breathe inside their schools.
Indoor Air Quality( IAQ) directly affects the health, performance, and long‐term well‐being of students and staff. Among the pollutants that compromise IAQ, radon gas stands out as one of the most dangerous, and often overlooked; threats in schools across the U. S. and beyond.
The Hidden Risk in Classrooms
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps into buildings through cracks in foundations, crawl spaces, and gaps around utility penetrations. Invisible, odorless, and tasteless, radon can accumulate indoors at unsafe levels without anyone realizing it.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency( EPA) has identified radon as the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. For children, the stakes are even higher: their faster breathing rates and developing lungs make them more vulnerable to radon exposure over time. In fact, the EPA estimates that 1 in 5 schools in the United States have at least one classroom with elevated radon levels.
That means thousands of children and teachers are at risk every day simply by showing up to school. Why Indoor Air Quality Matters for Learning
Beyond the life‐threatening risks of radon poisoning, poor indoor air quality in general has immediate and visible impacts on student success. Studies show that when classrooms have high levels of pollutants like radon, mold, or CO₂, students experience:
• Increased headaches, coughing, and asthma symptoms
• Higher rates of absenteeism
• Decreased attention span and concentration
• Lower test scores and academic performance Continued on next page …