Ohio could increase radon testing in schools after Dispatch probe
This article was originally published in The Columbus Dispatch with support from our 2025 National Fellowship and Dennis A. Hunt Fund.
A cat sniffs A-Z Solutions radon testing equipment sit on a table at a resident’s home in Bexley on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.
Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch
The Ohio Department of Health wants to work with lawmakers to increase radon testing in schools following a Dispatch investigation that found policymakers have for years failed to protect Ohioans from the invisible killer.
Eleven states, including neighboring West Virginia, require radon testing in schools but Ohio is not among them.
"We are actively looking at ways that we can work, potentially with members of the legislature, to revisit that and... develop new opportunities to make schools safer," Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the state health department said when asked about the lack of testing in schools.
Vanderhoff, who previously declined The Dispatch's interview requests, made the comments during a Dec. 4 press conference for new pediatric cancer research grants at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
The Environmental Protection Agency has recommended schools test for radon since 1989 and the Ohio Department of Health advises they do so every five years, after renovations or when heating and cooling systems are replaced. But, The Dispatch's "Invisible Killer" investigation found that few schools follow that guidance, leaving students at risk of radon exposure and serious illnesses such as lung cancer and leukemia.
Ohio's largest district, Columbus City Schools, does not regularly test for radon and neither does Cincinnati Public Schools. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District began testing for radon in 2024, officials said.
Across Franklin County, school district testing for radon is inconsistent.
Schools in Westerville, for example, are tested for radon every five years, a spokesperson said. But in Reynoldsburg, radon testing was put on hold after a 2024 levy failed despite 2023 testing that found high levels of the gas requiring mitigation, a spokesperson said.
"I would encourage every school in the state to do radon testing," Gov. Mike DeWine said on Thursday. "(The) stories certainly pointed out a lot of good things and I think it was a very good report."
In March, Ohio lawmakers denied a $15 million request to help test for radon in schools. Just a year earlier though, legislators approved $432,652 to abate radon, asbestos and other toxic substances in the state buildings where they work.
It's surprising lawmakers haven't done more when it comes to radon since it's long been known as a serious environmental hazard, Dr. Peter Shields, medical oncologist at Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital said Dec. 4 on WOSU's All Sides with Amy Juravich. The hour-long episode was dedicated to The Dispatch's "Invisible Killer" series.
In Ohio, there are just a few radon laws already on the books.
One requires home sellers disclose to buyers radon levels identified by previous testing, according to the Indoor Environments Association, a nonprofit that advocates for environmental hazard abatement. Another law requires state licensing of testing and mitigation professionals and a third mandates the governor convene a radiation advisory council.
A bill signed into law by DeWine in 2021 also made January radon awareness month in Ohio.
But, Shields told WOSU listeners Thursday that those laws are not enough.
"I've never understood why lawmakers don't seize on this as a low hanging fruit," he said. "We're way behind. We're not even out of the gate. To have a radon awareness month and that's pretty much it... that's almost nothing."