House Republican for District 12, Brian Best, says that he has introduced a bill that will work to protect students in schools across the state.
Best says many schools have not yet done the testing and/or mitigation, but he believes this is becoming a serious issue. Especially in his district, where high levels of radon are consistently recorded in area homes.
His own experiences include people he knows being diagnosed with lung cancer, even though they didn’t smoke, didn’t have farmer’s lung and weren’t around dusts. Medical professionals are now, he says, linking that to radon exposure more and more.
The bill would require schools to conduct radon testing by 2022 and mitigation to follow immediately. Best says he does not want to put unfunded mandates on any school system, but this is such an important public-health hazard that it needs to be looked at. The bill is currently in the Human Resources Committee and he is hoping to move it forward to a sub-committee. He is also linking a funding resource with the bill.
In addition, Best would ask to open as many silos at each district to help cover the costs and allowing schools to pull from their Physical Plant and Equipment Levies (PPEL) and general funds.
