Associations Between School Characteristics and Classroom Radon Concentrations in Utah's Public Schools: A Project Completed by University Environmental Health Students

Radon (²²²Rn), a radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. Classroom radon concentrations in public schools in our target area had never been measured or had not been measured in many years. We had university students, primarily enrolled in environmental health c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-08, Vol.17 (16), p.5839
Main Authors: Davis, Elizabeth A, Ou, Judy Y, Chausow, Cheyenne, Verdeja, Marco A, Divver, Eleanor, Johnston, James D, Beard, John D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air conditioning
Air Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis
Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis
Child
Classrooms
Confidence intervals
Environmental Health
Environmental management
Environmental protection
Facility Design and Construction
Humans
HVAC
HVAC equipment
Lung cancer
Public schools
Radiation Monitoring
Radon
Radon - analysis
Schools
Short term
Students
Studies
System effectiveness
Universities
Utah
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Summary:Radon (²²²Rn), a radioactive gas, is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. Classroom radon concentrations in public schools in our target area had never been measured or had not been measured in many years. We had university students, primarily enrolled in environmental health courses, measure radon concentrations in 2289 classrooms in 66 of Utah's public schools and identify school characteristics associated with classroom radon concentrations. The geometric mean (GM) classroom radon concentration was 31.39 (95% confidence interval (CI): 27.16, 36.28) Bq/m (GM: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72, 0.98 pCi/L). Thirty-seven (2%) classrooms in 13 (20%) schools had radon concentrations at or above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recommended action level of 148 Bq/m (4.0 pCi/L). Number of classrooms had a u-shaped association with classroom radon concentrations. The year the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system was installed was inversely associated with having classroom radon concentrations at or above the EPA's recommended action level. Number of classrooms and number of students had u-shaped associations with having classroom radon concentrations at or above the EPA's recommended action level. Classroom radon concentrations decreased when schools' HVAC systems were on. Replacing HVAC systems and turning/keeping them on may be effective radon mitigation strategies to prevent radon-associated lung cancer, especially for small and large schools.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17165839