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Committee hears radon update: fans and a second mitigation system installed; retest planned for November
Summary
Staff told the Storrs School Building Committee that fans were added after 2023 testing and a second mitigation system was installed in March after elevated results in the gym; tests show substantially reduced levels and the district is coordinating further testing and agency review.
A staff member told the School Building Committee on June 25 that the school has active radon mitigation measures in place and that recent elevated results prompted additional work earlier this year.
Candace summarized the testing and mitigation timeline: when the school was built, piping was installed for mitigation but fans were not installed; testing in November 2023 showed elevated results in certain lower‑level spaces and fans were installed in early 2024. After the subsequent two‑year re‑test window (November), staff identified elevated levels in the gymnasium and lounge and installed a second mitigation system at the end of March to address those areas.
"They are significantly reduced," Candace said of current test results following the additional mitigation work. She said staff will perform a formal re‑test in the November testing window (the typical testing window runs November through March) and have engaged an environmental engineering firm and the Connecticut Department of Public Health as well as the Eastern Highland Health District to review results and remediation steps. Staff also plans to send a formal response to the resident who raised the concern.
Committee members pressed staff for clarification about what was installed. One member asked whether the recent work involved only adding fans to existing piping or whether additional piping was installed; staff said that a second mitigation system (piping and fans) was installed where testing showed elevated levels and that the piping runs through foundations into the soil and exhausts through the roof.
Staff characterized the radon program as ongoing monitoring and mitigation in accordance with state public‑health guidance. If subsequent testing finds elevated levels, the committee was told the district will continue to investigate corrective options with the vendor, health authorities and the design/construction team as appropriate.
The committee did not take a vote on policy or expenditures during this discussion; staff said financing for the recent mitigation work was handled as facilities maintenance.
