BRADFORD, Vt. — Officials at River Bend Career and Technical Center are monitoring elevated radon levels detected during routine testing at the school in December.
After learning the River Bend results, school staff started to increase airflow in the two affected rooms, which are part of the school’s 21st Century Media and Design program, including one that is currently being occupied by students, who learn about game development, programming, character design, creative writing, graphic arts and animation as part of their studies.
“These two areas are being monitored and the readings have already been decreased,” director and principal Brian Emerson wrote in an emailed statement.
If the radon levels in the two classrooms were to increase, the students would be relocated, facilities director Dylan Greer said.
Two classrooms were found to be at or above the acceptable radon levels set out in Act 72, Section 12, which the Vermont Legislature passed in 2021. The Legislation requires all schools to test for radon, a natural gas that “comes from the decay of uranium, which is a radioactive element found naturally in the Earth’s crust,” according to the Vermont Department of Health. Under the law, schools are required to test their buildings for radon if they had not already done so in five years.
Exposure to radon can lead to lung cancer, said Michelle Thompson, a public health industrial hygienist at the Vermont Department of Health.
“It’s not something anyone would be noticing short term or acute health effects,” Thompson said in a Thursday phone interview.
The state action level is 4.0 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). One classroom tested at a 4.0 while the other tested at a 4.2, according to a Jan. 27 letter sent to parents and posted on the school’s website.
Schools are encouraged — but not required — to share their radon test results with the health department, Thompson said. Officials can then help connect schools with resources to address heightened levels.
“The law does not require schools to fix the radon problem,” she said.
In data dating back to 2006, Thompson said 151 schools in Vermont have tested for radon and of those, 17% had at least one room that had elevated radon levels, Thompson said.
The two River Bend classrooms have a combined air conditioning system, but separate heating systems, Greer, the facilities director, said.
“Right now the heating systems in place we found out from this test are not pulling enough fresh air into the space,” Greer wrote in an email.
Radon moves through permeable soils — which has fissures that allow gas to move more freely, as opposed to clay soil which is more compact — and can seep into buildings through foundations. Radon can get trapped inside buildings, leading to higher concentration levels.
“Ventilation can help reduce radon levels because it’s bringing in fresh air from the outside and it’s diluting any radon that’s coming into the building,” Thompson said.
Children are most likely to be exposed to radon at home, with schools in second place because it’s where they generally spend the second-most amount of time, Thompson said.
There are 226 high school students from eight Vermont and five New Hampshire towns enrolled at River Bend, which was built in the early 1970s and is part of the Orange East Supervisory Union, Emerson said. The school offers programs in cosmetology, heavy equipment operation, automotive technology and health sciences, among others.
River Bend is also grappling with other issues related to air quality, including a failing ventilation system in its building trades classroom. Plans are in the works to address it and the radon challenges, by installing new ventilators this summer, Greer wrote.
The Riverbend Advisory Board, which includes officials from the supervisory union’s schools, has been working on plans to improve the school’s air quality, Greer said.
“With the limited funding we have, we’re doing everything possible to stretch each dollar and make the most of our resources,” Greer wrote. “At the same time, the cost of (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) equipment and other essential materials continues to rise, creating a constant challenge for schools trying to maintain safe, functional facilities. Labor costs add another layer of difficulty, especially for specialized trades that are already in high demand.”
He encouraged communities and the state to invest more in technical education programs, which could help alleviate some of the challenges the technical center currently faces.
“The skilled worker shortage is not going to resolve itself if we continue to delay action. In a state where the cost of living is high, attracting blue-collar workers becomes even more difficult,” Greer wrote. “Strengthening our technical schools is one of the most practical and stable ways to prepare the next generation for meaningful careers while supporting the workforce our communities rely on.”