New tests show 5 Silver Spring schools have radon levels above EPA limit

Jackson Road Elementary had
the second-highest radon level
recorded in eastern
Montgomery County, 7.6 pCi/L

Montgomery County Public Schools has completed new radon tests at several schools in Silver Spring, and results show at least 5 schools have radon levels above the 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) limit recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. School systems are expected to take immediate action to reduce radon levels when they exceed that number.

Springbrook High School recorded the highest radon level in eastern Montgomery County schools, 8.9 pCi/L, in Classroom E111. One room that tested high at Springbrook was a daycare room.

The Silver Spring schools, and specific rooms that tested over-the-limit for radon, are:

Veirs Mill Elementary School:

Gym office 416-A (6.3 pCi/L)

Room 625-B (4.2)

East Silver Spring Elementary School:

Council 37 (6.4)

Jackson Road Elementary School:

Room 200 (7.6)

Oakview Elementary School:

Room 204 (5.5)

Springbrook High School:

Classroom B109/110 (6.1) 

Office B109-A (14.6) 

Office B109-B (5.5)

Classroom B104 (4.6)

Classroom E111 (8.9)

Daycare E108 (4.7) 

Classroom F105 (6.3) 

Classroom F106 (4.3)

Classroom F107 (4.4)

Classroom G108 (4.8)

It appears MCPS held on to the results before releasing them, as documents suggest the lab analysis of most of the test kits was performed between December 22 and December 24.

The presence of unsafe levels of radon in 26 MCPS schools, and the failure of the system to take action or report previous test results to parents, was first uncovered by the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD back in November.

Radon is described by the EPA as "a human carcinogen and a serious environmental health problem," and a "radioactive gas."