Couple pull children from school over radon worries

Lake Tahoe parent Heather Howell explained to the Douglas County School Board on May 21 why she and her husband, Douglas County Planning Commissioner Lawrence Howell, pulled their two sons from Zephyr Cove Elementary School.

"As parents, we felt our children were not safe," she said. "Because the district has taken too long to make radon mitigation a priority, I feel I can no longer trust them to accomplish other things or take care of basic safety needs."

The Howells' two sons, 6 and 9, now will be attending Grace Christian Academy in Minden.

"It's hard to leave the community, but we have to do what's right for our family," Heather Howell said.

Last year, elevated radon levels were discovered in some classrooms at Zephyr Cove. The district, advised by the Nevada State Health Division, installed high-efficiency particulate air filters to mitigate the odorless, colorless, cancer-causing gas.

Parents argued that HEPA filtration was not a recommended radon-mitigation technique of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In February, board President Teri Jamin wrote a letter to the EPA asking for guidance. EPA officials responded that active soil depressurization, a process of sealing off or redirecting gas away from a building's foundation, was the principal technique.

At a March meeting, school board members approved the immediate release of a request for proposal to solicit bids from contractors qualified in active soil depressurization. Since that meeting, the request for proposal has not been completed.

District Chief Financial Officer Holly Luna said after the March meeting that the district investigated a request for proposal but was advised by the EPA not to pursue one until tests were conclusive.

Luna said the team is scheduled to begin work at Zephyr Cove on June 10. Howell called the actions "too little, too late."