Photo: Pixabay
By Kendra Williams
Members of the Sanford School Committee heard an update Monday night on efforts to reduce radon emissions at Sanford Middle School and Sanford Pride Elementary School. Work is underway at the middle school and is being planned at Pride School.
“This is an important matter,” Superintendent Matt Nelson said, adding that staff are “working every day to resolve it as soon as possible.” The district is coordinating with the State of Maine, along with licensed mitigation professionals and electricians, to follow best practices for testing and remediation.
Radon is a radioactive gas that forms naturally when the radioactive metals uranium, thorium, or radium break down in rocks, soil and groundwater. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, people can be exposed to radon primarily by breathing it in air that comes through cracks and gaps in buildings and homes. Because radon comes naturally from the earth, people are always exposed to it. Long-term exposure to high levels can cause lung cancer.
According to Nelson, mitigation systems were already in place in the fifth grade and eighth grade classrooms and Allied Arts wing of the middle school. Additional systems are expected to come online next week. Replacement fans for the existing mitigation system have been secured and are scheduled for installation on April 14, with an electrician and mitigation specialist completing the upgrade.
In the meantime, the district has implemented continuous monitoring and operational changes. HVAC systems are running 24 hours a day to increase fresh air circulation, and digital monitors are rotating through affected areas. Students and staff will remain in classrooms during the work, with mitigation steps aligned to state guidance and continuous monitoring in place to maintain safe conditions.
Nelson said the district is also working to strengthen long-term oversight, including more frequent inspections, a preventative maintenance schedule, and an automatic notification system to alert staff to electrical or mechanical issues.
Longtime residents of Sanford may recall that in 1990 the EPA determined that Sanford’s middle school (now Pride Elementary) and high school (now the middle school) had consistently high levels of radon. Corrective action was taken over the course of several months to remediate the conditions. At Monday night’s meeting, Nelson noted that some systems appear not to have been operational following the recent conversion of the buildings.
For more information on radon, go here: https://www.epa.gov/radon/health-risk-radon#head
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