Thank you to those who stopped by our exhibit at the Wyoming Health Fairs Health & Wellness Expo earlier this month! It was great to see you and talk to so many who care about helping schools be healthier places. January is National Radon Action Month, so please check out our Diving Deeper feature below, “Radon in Schools—Act and Save a Life.” Consider visiting the websites listed at the end for more information. The Wyoming Cancer Program has a limited number of free radon test kits available to order, and the program partners with many libraries around the state to lend out radon monitors for free.
Events, Opportunities, & Resources
Opportunity: Wyoming Radon Poster Contest for students grades 3-9, deadline 4/17/26, https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/cancer-and-chronic-disease-prevention-unit/cancer/radonpostercontest/
Resource: Free kids radon activity book—Clean Air Superheroes Defeat Radon, https://www.epa.gov/radon/kids-radon-activity-book?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=
Diving Deeper: Radon in Schools—Act and Save a Life
With so many loud things vying for our attention, it’s hard to notice the quiet ones, even when they could prove deadly. Radon is quiet. It’s a natural, radioactive gas with no taste, color, or odor. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in nearly all soil. It can seep into buildings through cracks and openings in the foundation, whether the building is new or old. It can also end up in well water. A nationwide survey estimates one out of every five schools has dangerously high radon levels.
When radon is inhaled, it causes lung damage. Over time it can cause cancer. It’s the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers, causing an estimated 21,000 deaths per year in the United States. The higher the amount of radon someone is exposed to and the longer they’re exposed, the greater the risk they’ll develop lung cancer. Kids breathe in more air than adults, so their risk is greatest.
Radon is everywhere outdoors at levels low enough that it doesn’t endanger health. Indoors, though, it can build up to unsafe levels. The only way to know the radon level in your school (or home) is to test for it. Free and low-cost test kits are available through the Wyoming Cancer Program (see link at the end of this article). Test kits are also sold at many hardware stores. Every school should test for radon, and some states require it. The tests are simple, but follow the directions carefully to ensure an accurate result.
If the test result is over 4 pCi/L (picocuries per liter), action should be taken to reduce radon levels. (This is 10 times the natural level of radon outdoors.) See the links below for information on how to take action. If the result is more than 2.0 pCi/L, reducing levels is still recommended. New school buildings can and should be designed with controlling radon in mind.
It’s easy to ignore something we can’t see. But our Wyoming students and school staff deserve better than that. Encourage your local schools to test for radon and to take action if levels are high. You may be saving the life of someone you love.
Sources and for more information:
Wyoming Cancer Program, Wyoming Department of Health, https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/cancer-and-chronic-disease-prevention-unit/cancer/radon/
Radon in Schools, Washington State Department of Health, https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/schools/radon
Radon in Schools, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/radon/radon-schools
Wyoming Healthy Schools 