According to reports, radon levels at an Air Force base daycare in Missouri have been dangerously high for almost a year without intervention.
A report shows that two rooms in the childcare center at Whiteman Air Force Base exceeded federal safety standards.
The 509th Bomb Wing’s leadership ignored the results of radon gas tests from June 2022, according to an internal document.
The notification said that to figure out what went wrong, they were looking into internal data and consulting with their collaborators at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.
The center’s toddler room registered at 6.33 WML/year (working level months per year). A measurement of 1.24 was recorded in the nursery. Maximum annual exposure is capped at 0.8 WLM.
Exposed children can be evaluated.
The workers at the base will perform more tests before sealing up the two rooms.
The notice said that the chance of a child having lung cancer due to exposures at the Child Center is substantially less than 1 percent but that every effort is being made to ensure a reduction of the present actionable levels.
According to a statement released by the Air Force, personnel at the installation are investigating internal data and consulting with USAFSAM partners to figure out what went wrong.
EPA research shows that radon exposure causes about 21,000 cancers of the lungs deaths annually, according to the CDC.
The CDC warned Radon may enter houses via cracks or openings and rise. High radon levels may cause lung cancer over time.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry noted that children may be exposed to greater radiation doses than adults due to differences in lung dimensions and breathing rates. It said that exposure to radon may virtually double the risk of lung cancer in kids compared to the risk in adults who are exposed to the same level of radon.
