F
"Districts are kind of afraid to do what the EPA
recommends because they don't want the
ramifications down the line," Grosse said. "Ideally,
you want to approximate normal conditions in the
buildings. Ideally, you're doing it in the winter."
Responses from the majority of school districts, combined with the lack of
any requirement to conduct testing, appear to show that while there are
some attempts to address the risk of radon in schools, a full understanding
of those risks is lacking.
High levels of radon gas can occur in any indoor environment. Further,
radon levels may vary from building to building in the same district, and
from room to room in each building. Although Oakland County is
considered to have a relatively low risk of radon, there may be various hot
spots in any area. Ultimately, testing is the only way to determine whether
or not radon is below the acton level.
A spokeswoman for Southfield Public Schools said the district hasn't
tested for at least 10 years and doesn't have any plans to do so.
In Troy, Superintendent Richard Machesky said the district conducted
testing in 2011, prior to his start as superintendent. That testing, which was
one of the most comprehensive in the county according to Grosse with Arch
Environmental, included testing of all buildings and all rooms
recommended by the EPA.
"There was an issue raised in one of the buildings," Machesky said. "The
results came back negative across the district, and we haven't done it since.
There's been no reason to do it since."
Berkley Schools, Brandon School District, Clarenceville School District,
Clarkston School District, Huron Valley Schools, Lake Orion Community
Schools, Oxford Community Schools, Royal Oak Schools and West
Bloomfield School District all said they do not test for radon, nor have they
done so in recent years.
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools spokeswoman Judy Evola said the
district did some testing at one of the district's high schools in the past as
part of a wider testing program, and no elevated levels of radon were
found.
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