Child care facilities are places for children to learn, play, laugh, and develop. They are intended to be safe, nurturing environments to set children up for success. However, like any built environment, they can hold risks to children’s health. One such risk is radon exposure. Unlike a lot of other hazards, radon has no scent and is invisible to the naked eye. This means that it often goes undetected for a long period of time, all the while causing long-term damage to those in its wake - including children.
The best way to protect children’s health is to prevent and reduce exposure, so let’s take a more in depth look at this radioactive gas and how it operates.
What Is Radon?
Radon is formed when uranium (an element found naturally in soil and rock) breaks down. Outdoors, it disperses quickly. Indoors, however, especially in poorly ventilated areas like basements and ground-floor rooms, radon can become trapped and build up to levels that are hazardous to human health
Radon is invisible, tasteless, and odorless. It seeps into buildings and
then travels upwards from the ground through cracks in foundations, floors, and walls. Once inside, it can accumulate to dangerous levels, putting children, teachers, and child care providers at risk of long-term health problems. Again, it becomes especially concentrated in poorly ventilated areas (ie., elevators, rooms with closed doors and windows, with very little air flow). Therefore, exposure might be increased in colder months where facilities opt to close windows to conserve heat.
Health Risks of Radon Exposure
The primary danger of radon exposure is lung cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Long-term exposure to high radon levels can damage lung tissue and significantly increase cancer risk.
Children are even more vulnerable than adults because of their faster breathing rates; they take in more air than adults despite their smaller lungs. This increases their exposure to radon, if it is present.
Lung cancer may develop later in life as a result of radon exposure in childhood, so it isn’t only the immediate health damage that we need to consider, but also children’s long-term health and well-being.
Risks in Child Care Facilities
Structural risk factors
Many schools and child care facilities are built on land with naturally high levels of uranium in the soil. Uranium concentration and presence is unpredictable; it can be found in high levels under one building, but not the ones adjacent. This reinforces how testing each and every building is so important to truly determine radon presence. A higher concentration of uranium in the ground increases the chances of radon gasses seeping into the building. Plus, older buildings often have poor ventilation and structural cracks in the foundations that allow radon to enter from the ground and continue upwards.
Increased Duration of Exposure
Since children and those who work in child care facilities spend many hours a day inside these buildings, long-term exposure—even to moderate radon levels—can accumulate and pose significant health risks. Children typically spend up to seven hours a day indoors in child care facilities, five days a week. Very young children and infants spend even more time indoors.. This is why ensuring these environments are as healthy as possible is vital.
Despite the known dangers, radon testing in child care facilities is not mandatory in most U.S.states. Colorado is a good example of protective policy; as of 2016, schools are required to test for radon within 19 months of occupancy, and child care facilities within 6 months. This means that hazardous levels of radon can be identified and then subsequent protective action can be taken. Where testing is conducted, some child care facilities have been found to have radon levels well above the recommended action level of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), set by the EPA. We need legislation to ensure that no child - or adult - is facing high radon exposure.
Addressing the Problem
Testing for Radon
The good news is that radon exposure is preventable. Testing for radon is simple and inexpensive, and if high levels are detected, mitigation systems—such as sub-slab depressurization or improved ventilation—can be installed to reduce exposure. More information about radon testing and mitigation can be found on the CR3 website, as well as on the National Radon Program Services website.
To source a short term or long term radon testing kit, you can go to your local hardware store or order one online. They are low cost ($20-$30)), and some states even offer free radon testing for child care facilities. You can also call radon testing professionals who can test your facility for you.
Advocacy
Public health experts and advocacy groups like CR3 are calling for policies that require regular radon testing in child care institutions and provide funding for mitigation where necessary. Raising awareness among parents, educators, and policymakers is a key step toward ensuring that every child and child care worker is protected from this invisible hazard. Sharing resources with those around you and bringing radon into the conversation all work to increase awareness and protect children’s health.
Children’s Environmental Health Network
At Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), creating safer environments for children is our utmost priority. On our website and social media, you can find lots of free resources and guidance for protecting children’s health, including improving air quality.
We proudly run our Eco Healthy Child Care program®, which helps child care providers identify environmental risks in their facilities and take action towards reducing them. Take a look at our EHCC® Radon Fact Sheet and EHCC® Air Quality Fact Sheet. Be sure to reach out to us if you have any questions.
Conclusion
Radon in child care facilities is a hidden but very real threat to health. With increased testing, awareness, and action, we can collectively reduce the risk and ensure that these environments remain safe and healthy places for children to learn and grow. Make sure you test your home for radon, ask your child care facility to test for radon, and spread the word about the health risks associated with radon. Taking preventive steps today can save lives tomorrow.
Toxic Air, Tiny Lungs:
Radon in Child Care
Facilities
50
Continued on next page ...
then travels upwards from the ground through cracks in foundations, floors, and walls. Once inside, it can accumulate to dangerous levels, putting children, teachers, and child care providers at risk of long-term health problems. Again, it becomes especially concentrated in poorly ventilated areas (ie., elevators, rooms with closed doors and windows, with very little air flow. Therefore, exposure might be increased in colder months where facilities opt to close windows to conserve heat.
Health Risks of Radon Exposure
The primary danger of radon exposure is lung cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Long-term exposure to high radon levels can damage lung tissue and significantly increase cancer risk.
Children are even more vulnerable than adults because of their faster breathing rates; they take in more air than adults despite their smaller lungs. This increases their exposure to radon, if it is present.
Continued on next page ...
2025 By: Rebecca Barry, MSc,
Medical Anthropology,
CEHN Consultant