January has been National Radon Action Month.

There is no requirement that North Carolina schools be tested for cancer-causing radon gas!

Radon, a cancer-causing, invisible and odorless gas, occurs naturally and is released by the soil underlying many buildings. When it accumulates inside a structure, radon can cause lung cancer among occupants. The EPA says radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year.

Inside a building, radon is usually found close to the floor - in the space occupied by little children. Many of these 21,000 deaths are caused by lifelong lower-dose exposure that begins in nursery school, kindergarten, or primary school.

View the interactive version of this map for your local information by clicking here.

Data provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that 77 of the 100 counties in North Carolina have radon indoor air levels above the level requiring action - (4 picocuries per liter.)(1,2)

Current North Carolina regulations require that any property being bought/sold must be inspected before a sale is closed. Since schools are never sold, they are never inspected. Our state legislature is considering testing public schools, at an estimated cost of $45 million dollars.(2) But this has not been approved yet, and given the current efforts to reduce state spending, it is not assured of being passed.

You do not have to wait for the legislature. Test kits are sold at a variety of home-improvement stores, as well as online commercial suppliers. You also can borrow them for free from our sister organization, The Pollution Detectives.org, by completing this form.

For more information, please visit Testing for radon.

1) https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/health-service-regulation/north-carolina-radon-program/county-testing-and-mitigation-recommendations

2) https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/health-service-regulation/north-carolina-radon-program

3) https://www.ednc.org/08-01-2024-carbon-monoxide-and-radon-gas-testing-in-n-c-schools-has-85-million-price-tag-report-shows/#:~:text=North%20Carolina%20lawmakers%20directed%20the%20State%20Board,the%20Board%20voted%20to%20approve%20the%20report%2C

WHAT MAKES A HEALTHY SCHOOL?

For many of us, January has been accompanied by seemingly ubiquitous change...

All around us, national, state, and local organizations are shifting policy priorities toward new initiatives while reassessing those in place. As governments, nonprofits, and corporations adapt, we are reminded of a central question:

What, exactly, are we aiming for?

It is a potent consideration for K-12 educators. About 20% of total U.S. inhabitants—and 99% of all children—occupy school buildings during most of their waking hours. The quality of these facilities, in addition to what transpires in them, holds great potential to benefit or harm this population. Yet, according to EPA, about half of the 130,000 public and private schools in the U.S. are unable to provide healthy environments conducive to rich teaching and learning experiences.

Repositioning

As the Coalition for Healthy Schools asserts, studies show that attendance, productivity, and ultimately, academic performance, are contingent upon the quality of indoor conditions in which school personnel and students work and go to class. In its 25th year, the Coalition, an outgrowth of the Healthy Schools Network, says learning is greater in facilities that are clean, dry, free of dust, particulates and volatile organic compounds, adequately ventilated, comfortably warm or cool, and quiet.

Listen Up! Play it safe with your ears. Play it safe with your health

According to the Coalition’s Position Statement, achieving these conditions is difficult. Some schools are located near abandoned landfills or industrial plants, contaminating air exchanges with the indoor environment. At the same time, most schools are densely occupied, with crowded hallways and classrooms that necessitate more frequent ventilation from outside. When respiratory viruses peak in the winter months, these dynamics are even more significant. Further, in poor communities whose states fail to support infrastructure renewal, old facilities may still contain unsafe materials such as lead and asbestos. And operations personnel may lack the staff and training to increase air exchanges, maintain high-grade filters, promptly repair leaks and pooled water, and properly use and store toxic chemicals.

Finally, each of these factors is compounded by the disruptive effects of severe weather events.

Toward Policies and Plans

Now, the Coalition has announced new policy recommendations and a Transition Plan to make healthy school environments more likely. In particular, they call for a coordinated approach across federal entities such as the Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Energy. The "action elements" represented in the plan provide a ready framework for local agencies, too.

Critical aspects of a federal and local response include the following components:

• Educational campaign to increase recognition of health impacts;
• Technical assistance to more quickly remediate undesirable conditions;
• Disaster guidance to adequately protect school occupants and facilitate reopening;
• Better school design, siting, and construction, or retrofitting to remove impediments to clean air;
• Removal of toxic materials and outdated chemicals to ensure safety;
• Coordination of public health services to monitor and combat infectious disease (and other, chronic conditions, such as asthma);
• Renewed attention to outdoor school recreation to improve physical health, alertness and concentration; and
• Greater use of natural light and acoustical control to reduce distractions.

The health of our schools is an investment in the future of our children—a policy priority for all times. Let's make the transition together.

To learn more about desirable goals for your jurisdiction, explore the full Position Statement and Policy Recommendations or review the Transition Plan.

Narrow Your Search... for effective products

Most of us, along with the organizations we represent, are constrained by limited budgets as well as limited knowledge, making purchasing decisions sometimes fraught with ambiguity. Without guidance, selecting among products with environmental impacts can be especially vexing.

To address the concerns of individuals and enterprises, including schools, the Environmental Protection Agency established an Ecolabel Program which embraces goods designed for energy and water efficiency, reduced emissions and the use of recycled materials.

The labels and their associated trademarks promote six aspects of household and commercial consumption:

• Energy Efficiency, through a preference for products meeting established benchmarks (ENERGY STAR®);
• Water Conservation, through the choice of recommended strategies for reducing volume and cost (WaterSense);
• Chemical Safety, through the voluntary adoption of health and environmental standards for packaging, ingredients, and performance (Safer Choice);
• Ozone and climate neutrality, through the use of refrigerant and propellant substitutes for ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and for climate-change-causing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) (Significant New Alternatives Policy, or SNAP);
• Supply chain affordability and sustainability, through the selection of streamlined freight carriers, transport modes, and operational strategies (SmartWay® and SmartWay Vehicles);
• Material longevity and preservation, through continued recycling of goods made from recycled materials (Comprehensive Procurement Guideline, or CPG).