Dangerous levels of Radon found in 28 MCPS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only on DCUM would there be a person sticking up for MCPS and their 3 year oversight on high radon levels. They were above the rated levels regardless of how mild you may think they are. MCPS did NOTHING to resolve it or retest for 3 years. Someone secretly gave a news source this issue and that is the only reason MCPS is now looking to retest or improve. Otherwise it would still be swept under the carpet. That is scary no matter how tame you think high levels of radon are.

Nobody is "sticking up for MCPS". The PPs you're objecting to are simply saying that this is not cause for panic.

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

That's not how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only on DCUM would there be a person sticking up for MCPS and their 3 year oversight on high radon levels. They were above the rated levels regardless of how mild you may think they are. MCPS did NOTHING to resolve it or retest for 3 years. Someone secretly gave a news source this issue and that is the only reason MCPS is now looking to retest or improve. Otherwise it would still be swept under the carpet. That is scary no matter how tame you think high levels of radon are.

Nobody is "sticking up for MCPS". The PPs you're objecting to are simply saying that this is not cause for panic.

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

Exactly. Please raise this in every way possible with all your elected officials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only on DCUM would there be a person sticking up for MCPS and their 3 year oversight on high radon levels. They were above the rated levels regardless of how mild you may think they are. MCPS did NOTHING to resolve it or retest for 3 years. Someone secretly gave a news source this issue and that is the only reason MCPS is now looking to retest or improve. Otherwise it would still be swept under the carpet. That is scary no matter how tame you think high levels of radon are.

Nobody is "sticking up for MCPS". The PPs you're objecting to are simply saying that this is not cause for panic.

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

Exactly. Please raise this in every way possible with all your elected officials.

thanks to the parents coalition for asking for the radon reports

[Anonymous]

+1 PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

That's not how it works.

Radon levels do indeed go up. It can stay the same too but it can also go up. It isn't the same exact number for years and years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

That's not how it works.

Radon levels do indeed go up. It can stay the same too but it can also go up. It isn't the same exact number for years and years.

And it can also go down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

That's not how it works.

Radon levels do indeed go up. It can stay the same too but it can also go up. It isn't the same exact number for years and years.

And it can also go down.

Okay MCPS representative lurking on DCUM. But if you blow it off for 3 years you have NO IDEA what those levels are. Many of the schools who were okay could now be high too. Stop rationalizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

That's not how it works.

Radon levels do indeed go up. It can stay the same too but it can also go up. It isn't the same exact number for years and years.

And it can also go down.

Okay MCPS representative lurking on DCUM. But if you blow it off for 3 years you have NO IDEA what those levels are. Many of the schools who were okay could now be high too. Stop rationalizing.

Not an MCPS representative. Also not lurking.

Do you get your basement tested for radon every 3 years on grounds that the last testing was 3 years ago so you have NO IDEA what those levels are today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am not "paniking" I want to know who high levels of radon were not reported or mentioned to me as a parent of students that attend one of these schools. I want to know why nothing was done for 3 years. I want to know what would have happened if a news source did not run this on their website and nightly news. I am pretty sure nothing. There are teachers that have stayed in the SAME class everyday for those 3 years. Teachers that have been pregnant. They aren't to be guinea pigs in what you or someone else might think are not "too bad" of levels. They are over the limit. Some are double the limit. Who cares if the chances may not incredibly high. But there is an INCREASED risk that no one can deny. And if those levels were 50%-100% over the limit then, whose to say they aren't 200-400% over the limit now - 3 years later.

That's not how it works.

Radon levels do indeed go up. It can stay the same too but it can also go up. It isn't the same exact number for years and years.

And it can also go down.

Okay MCPS representative lurking on DCUM. But if you blow it off for 3 years you have NO IDEA what those levels are. Many of the schools who were okay could now be high too. Stop rationalizing.

Not an MCPS representative. Also not lurking.

Do you get your basement tested for radon every 3 years on grounds that the last testing was 3 years ago so you have NO IDEA what those levels are today?

Actually, yes. And I've never exceeded. But we are in an area where radon is an issue and the test are cheap, so why not. But your point is a failure anyway, because these schools *exceeded* and by the regulatory guidelines were supposed to be retested and weren't. Because MCPS put the test results in a drawer and did nothing about it. Pathetically incompetent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who are so outraged about this should probably get a monitor for their basements. I bet many if not most of them are near or over 4 too. And then there's your workplace, your child's private school, your gym, your parents' house... All I'm saying is, if you insist on worrying yourself to pieces over this you really need to be consistent and worry about radon everywhere, because it's a naturally occurring gas and it's not just something that's in "bad" or "old" places like lead paint or asbestos. It's everywhere.

Wrong. We did test our basement when we moved in (under limit) and all new basement construction has a radon pipe requirement per code. I don't let my kids live in a house with radon levels exceeding the limits, why should they have to go to school in a place that exceeds limits? The limits are what they are for a reason. Stop making excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Actually, yes. And I've never exceeded. But we are in an area where radon is an issue and the test are cheap, so why not. But your point is a failure anyway, because these schools *exceeded* and by the regulatory guidelines were supposed to be retested and weren't. Because MCPS put the test results in a drawer and did nothing about it. Pathetically incompetent.

You get your basement tested for radon every 3 years? Why? How much have the results changed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Actually, yes. And I've never exceeded. But we are in an area where radon is an issue and the test are cheap, so why not. But your point is a failure anyway, because these schools *exceeded* and by the regulatory guidelines were supposed to be retested and weren't. Because MCPS put the test results in a drawer and did nothing about it. Pathetically incompetent.

You get your basement tested for radon every 3 years? Why? How much have the results changed?

Minimally. But we did a renovation and we're considering using the basement as a playroom, so it made sense. The test is easy and cheap. I'm unusually aware of environmental health issues because of my background (biostatistics) so we are more on top of this stuff than most.

[Anonymous]

Radon is hooey. Where is the evidence of harm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI
"A family whose home has radon levels of 4 pCi/l is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow if that family was standing next to the fence of a radioactive waste site. (25 mrem limit, 800 mrem exposure)

An elementary school student that spends 8 hours per day and 180 days per year in a classroom with 4 pCi/l of radon will receive nearly 10 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows at the edge of a nuclear power plant.(25 mrem limit, 200 mrem exposure)

Most U.S. EPA lifetime safety standards for carcinogens are established based on a 1 in 100,000 risk of death. Most scientists agree that the risk of death for radon at 4 pCi/l is approximately 1 in 100. At the 4 pCi/l EPA action guideline level, radon carries approximately 1000 times the risk of death as any other EPA carcinogen. It is important to note that the action level is not a safe level, as there are no "safe" levels of radon gas."

From the Radon Information Ctr http://www.radon.com/radon/radon_facts.html

That's interesting, because the EPA says that at 4 pCi/l, if 1,000 people who never smoked were exposed to this level over a lifetime, about 7 people could develop lung cancer. I guess that you could say that 7/1,000 is approximately 1/100, but the risk of developing lung cancer is absolutely not the same as the risk of dying from lung cancer, and I think that the "lifetime of exposure" thing is relevant too.

But if you want to trust "radon.com" over the EPA, go ahead.

The survival rate for lung cancer is about 17%. So let's not rely on the difference between getting it and dying of it.