Radon mitigation at the Roberta Shirley Center is scheduled for August to reduce levels of the colorless, odorless gas.
The level of radon does not require mitigation, but the administration is choosing to do it anyway, said Lisa Stone-Muntz, executive director of Tri-County Head Start. Tri-County oversees Roberta Shirley and other early education centers in the region.
“We care about children and families and we want them to feel confident living and working in the environment that they are in,” Stone-Muntz said.
Radon is produced by decaying uranium in rocks and soil, which is common across La Plata County. Long-term exposure to radon can lead to lung cancer.
Over winter break, an initial screening found radon was above 20 picoCuries per liter. After the results were announced in late January, some teachers refused to come to work, prompting the center to close.
Tests done while the center was in operation found radon levels in the range of 6 to 8 picoCuries per liter.
The state safety standard is 4 picoCuries per liter.
The mitigation is scheduled during the school’s regular break in August when students will not be in the building, Stone-Muntz said. A date for the work has not been set, and the full cost of the work will not be known until August, Stone-Muntz said.
The city owns the Roberta Shirley Center’s building and plans to adjust the center’s lease payments for 18 months to compensate Tri-State for radon mitigation, Director of City Operations Levi Lloyd said.
The city also plans to cover asbestos mitigation in the building’s crawl space, which is related to radon work, he said.
Mitigation for mold and lead will be done during the same time as well, Stone-Muntz said.
Radon mitigation usually requires sealing cracks in a building’s crawl space and then installing a system to vent the radon gas, said Wendy Rice, family and consumer science agent for the La Plata County Extension Office.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
