More schools to be tested for radon

Using inexpensive activated charcoal test kits from the state of California, Lake Tahoe Unified School District hopes to begin testing its facilities for radon gas by the end of the month.

Within the next two weeks, the state is expected to make radon test kits available to the school district for $5 each, according to Steve Morales, district facilities manager, who has been in recent discussions with George Faggella, radon officer for the California Department of Health Services.

In relaying those discussions to the school board during its regular meeting Wednesday night, Morales said, "in all likelihood, we probably won't have very high levels of radon."

The high rate of indoor air turnover provided by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems installed at district buildings in the mid-1980s should keep levels of radon gas from building up to potentially dangerous levels, Morales said.

Four hundred and fifty sites throughout Lake Tahoe Unified School District's properties, including rooms routinely occupied such as classrooms and offices, have been identified for simultaneous radon testing, tentatively scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 29, according to Morales.

The entire testing process, from placing the testers to receiving lab analysis, is expected to take approximately two to three weeks.