Public school districts must set up radon testing plans, publish results, and follow testing, mitigation, and construction requirements.
1. For purposes of this section, “short-term test” means a test using a device that remains in an area for two to seven days to determine the amount of radon in the air. 2. The board of directors of each public school district shall establish a radon plan and schedule for short-term tests for radon gas to be performed at each attendance center under its control at least once by July 1, 2027, and at least once every five years thereafter. Each school district shall publish testing results on the district’s internet site in a timely manner. 3. Radon testing pursuant to this section conducted on and after July 1, 2022, shall be conducted by a person certified to conduct such testing pursuant to section 136B.1 or by district employees that have completed a school radon testing training program approved by the department of education and the department of health and human services. District employees that have completed training shall not perform testing services in locations other than the employee’s employing district. The department of health and human services shall maintain and make available to school districts a list of such approved school radon testing training programs. Testing shall be based on recognized national standards that outline school radon testing practices. 4. a. If the results of a short-term test at an attendance center are at or above four picocuries per liter, the board of directors of the public school district shall conduct a second short-term test for radon gas and radon decay products in the spaces with elevated results within sixty days of the first test. b. If the averaged results of the first and second tests at an attendance center pursuant to paragraph “a” are at or above four picocuries per liter, the board of directors of the public school district shall retain or employ a person credentialed pursuant to section 136B.1 to develop a radon mitigation plan that may include further diagnostic testing, corrective measures, and active mitigation. The board shall complete the radon mitigation plan within two years of the first test. A district is not required to mitigate radon at an attendance center if the district intends to abandon the building within five years or has a plan to renovate the attendance center within five years and the renovation will include radon mitigation. 5. All new school construction shall incorporate radon resistant construction techniques. 6. In consultation with appropriate stakeholders and the department of education, the department of health and human services shall adopt rules to administer this section. 2022 Acts, ch 1097, §1, 4; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1043 Referred to in §423F.3 For provisions relating to certain funding for radon testing, see §423F.3(3)(a)