E
The Novi Community School District tests for radon
every other calendar year at buildings throughout the
district, with the last round of testing conducted in the winter of 2017.
Those tests, as shown through results provided to Downtown by the
district, were conducted by Arch Environmental. Tests included short-term,
activated charcoal devices in seven locations at Novi High School; five
locations at Novi Middle School; three locations in each of the elementary
schools; three locations in each wing of the Novi Meadows complex; and
three locations in the Early Childhood Education Center. Previous sampling
at the district included the ESB building, transportation building,
maintenance building and community preschool.
"All samples identified radon concentrations below the EPA recommended
'action level' of 4.0 pCi/L," Arch Industrial Hygiene Consultant Phillip
Grosse wrote in a report to the district. "One sample, collected in Room 111
at Orchard Hills Elementary School, identified a radon concentration of
3.7 +/- 0.7 pCi/L. Although this level is technically below the 'action level,'
the accuracy of the method suggests that the actual concentration may
range from 3.0 pCi/L to 4.4 pCi/L.
"Prudent practice recommends that areas where radon levels are
potentially above the 'action level' should be retested with a second short-
term test to confirm the results of the initial test. A second test above the
'action level' recommends that either progressing to a long-term test of at
least 90 days or taking corrective action measures to reduce levels below
the 'action level.'"
While some other school districts in the county said they had tested for
radon in the past, they didn't provide documentation, nor did they say there
were plans for future testing.
The majority of districts that don't test for radon told Downtown that there
was little need to conduct such tests, based either on past results or the
lack of any such requirement.
Diane Bauman, director of communications for Farmington Public Schools,
said the district doesn't do any radon testing. The reasoning, she said, was
explained by the district's director of facilities, who she said told her that
radon testing is typically done in buildings with basements, and that there
are few such buildings in the district. Also, there is no requirement for
testing.
However, the EPA and certified radon testers say changes in a building's
heating and cooling system, changes around the foundation of a building
and other changes in a structure that occur over time may all lead to
changes in radon levels at a building.
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