Testing radon levels in schools, did mitigation at eight schools

Radon

Lincoln Public Schools has tested 36 of its schools for radon gas levels over the past school year, eight of which had levels that required some mitigation.

Operations Director Scott Wieskamp said in each case where levels were higher than 4.0 picocuries per liter of air — a level the Environmental Protection Agency has said is unacceptable — district staff conducted mitigation efforts. A picocurie is a common unit for measuring the amount of radioactivity.

Radon is a radioactive gas that forms naturally when uranium, thorium, or radium, break down in rocks, soil and groundwater.

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