Radon Testing in Licensed Child Care Facilities

As you probably know, New Jersey licensed child care facilities, whether located within a residence, commercial building, or the site of a religious congregation, are required by N.J.S.A. 30:5B-5.2 and N.J.A.C. 3A:52-5.3 to test for the presence of radon at least once every five years, and post the results in a prominent location.

We are licensed and qualified in New Jersey to set up day care and pre-school radon measurements, and provide the results through RAdata, a NJ certified radon measurement business (and our favorite radon lab…) in Flanders, NJDEP cert. #MEB90001. We deliver the test results to you under RAdata’s letterhead, as required by regulation. 

We understand your staff’s time constraints and the challenges of testing with children present. We are respectful of your needs while ensuring that all necessary protocols are satisfied.  We are experienced at taking the complexity of the radon testing requirement off your hands, and letting you focus on your primary mission.

· We will work with you to develop a Measurement Plan that is compliant with NJDEP and EPA requirements for licensed child care facilities, and get it approved.

· We will produce a floor plan drawing of your facility if one is not already available.

· If necessary, our technician will visit your facility before testing to carry out any measurements or observations that may be needed to finalize the plan.

· We provide appropriate documentation for you to send to parents prior to testing.

· We provide information and instructions to distribute to staff.

· If desired, we can provide you with links to age-appropriate lesson plans and activities you may use to explain the testing to the kids, and make them feel like active participants! 

· We will set up the test apparatus according to the measurement plan. We use anti-tamper enclosures and enhanced quality control measures, such as extra blanks and duplicates*, to ensure the integrity of your results. 

· We’ll work with you to make sure that the placement of the test apparatus minimizes interference with normal activities, using our special mounting hardware if needed.

· We will monitor weather conditions during your test. Severe weather events can cause high readings that are not representative of normal conditions. If your facility gets a high reading, weather data can alert us to the possibility that the results are misleading, and that re-testing is justified. 

· We provide appropriate documentation to send to parents after testing, depending on the results. 

· We will deliver the results report for your facility from RAdata and provide the other documents you need to pass inspection!

• *Duplicates are extra measuring devices placed side by side, and checked for agreement after testing, to eliminate any possibility of an inaccurate reading caused by a defective canister. Blanks are canisters left unexposed to verify the zero-point accuracy of the lab equipment and proper storage conditions for test units. 

No. The measurement devices are secured in tamper prevention cages. Most of the time, they are simply placed on a shelf or secured to one of our mount tripods if needed. While it is usually not possible to place all devices such that they are completely inaccessible to the children, we have found that interference with the tests is very rare to nonexistent. Deployment usually takes only about 3 - 5 minutes per measurement point.

New Jersey recommends but does not require that licensed child care facilities take action to mitigate radon levels if the test result is above the action level of 4.0 pCi/L (picocuries per liter) defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and N.J. Department of Environmental Protection. The only legal requirement is that the results be prominently posted. In the event of high readings, we will also check local weather records and site conditions to see if any severe weather events or other factors justify re-testing. 

The cost for testing a facility varies with size and layout. The price for a commercial daycare can vary from $495 to $1500 or more depending on the number of test locations that are required by the EPA protocol (up to 10 measurement points are included in the $495 base price). Residential daycare facilities may be tested for as little as $169.