Association of School District Policies for Radon Testing and Radon-Resistant New Construction Practices with Indoor Radon Zones

Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless, and tasteless radioactive gas. Without testing, its presence is unknown. Using nationally representative data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study, we examined whether the prevalence of school district policies for radon testin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 13; no. 12; p. 1234
Main Authors Foster, Stephanie, Everett Jones, Sherry
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 13.12.2016
MDPI
Subjects
Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis
Construction
Environmental protection
Health Policy
Humans
Lung cancer
Questionnaires
Radon
Radon - analysis
Radon tests
School districts
School environment
Schools - organization & administration
Schools - standards
United States
United States > US
radon
school district
radon-resistant new construction
schools
testing
policy
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Summary:Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless, and tasteless radioactive gas. Without testing, its presence is unknown. Using nationally representative data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study, we examined whether the prevalence of school district policies for radon testing and for radon-resistant new construction practices varied by district location in relation to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Map of Radon Zones. Among school districts located in counties with high predicted average indoor radon, 42.4% had policies for radon testing and 37.5% had policies for radon-resistant new construction practices. These findings suggest a critical need for improved awareness among policy makers regarding potential radon exposure for both students and school staff.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph13121234