I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 275 
To establish a grant program to test and mitigate radon levels in public 
schools, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2013 
Mr. BRALEY of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program to test and mitigate radon 
levels in public schools, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘End Radon in Schools 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap-
propriations to carry out this Act, not later than 1 year 
after the date that Federal funds are first appropriated 
for this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro-
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tection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu-
cation, shall establish a program under which the Admin-
istrator may award grants to States to conduct short-term 
radon testing to identify and mitigate unsafe radon levels 
in public schools. 
(b) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall re-
view, update, revise, and publish the Radon Measurements 
In Schools Guidelines with current information and guid-
ance on radon testing in a public school. 
SEC. 3. GRANT AWARDS. 
In carrying out the program under this Act, the Ad-
ministrator shall— 
(1) provide a grant award for each State se-
lected to receive a grant under this Act to complete 
the testing under section 5(b); 
(2) in the case of a State that submits a report 
and is required to conduct mitigation under section 
5(c)(1)— 
(A) provide an additional grant award for 
the State to conduct such mitigation under such 
subparagraph (A) of such section; or 
(B) conduct such mitigation under sub-
paragraph (B) of such section; and 
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(3) in the case of a State that submits a report 
and is required to conduct reevaluation under sec-
tion 5(d), provide an additional grant award for the 
State to complete the reevaluation. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION; PRIORITY. 
(a) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this Act, a State shall submit an application to the 
Administrator in such manner, at such time, and con-
taining such information as the Administrator may re-
quire, including a certification that the grant funds will 
be used to— 
(1) test the radon levels in public schools pursu-
ant to section 5(b); and 
(2) mitigate the effects of unsafe radon levels in 
public schools pursuant to section 5(c), determined 
by the test under paragraph (1). 
(b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants to States under 
this Act, the Administrator shall— 
(1) determine the priority of grant awards by 
ranking each State that submits an application in 
relation to each other such State; and 
(2) in ranking States under paragraph (1)— 
(A) assign highest priority to a State with 
100 percent of such State’s landmass in Radon 
Zone 1; 
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(B) in a case in which multiple States have 
100 percent of such States’ landmasses in 
Radon Zone 1, assign priority among such 
States at the Administrator’s discretion; 
(C) assign second highest priority to a 
State with at least 50 percent of such State’s 
landmass in Radon Zone 1; 
(D) in a case in which multiple States have 
at least 50 percent of such States’ landmasses 
in Radon Zone 1, assign priority among such 
States at the Administrator’s discretion; and 
(E) in a case in which a State has less 
than 50 percent of such State’s landmass in 
Radon Zone 1, assign priority to such State at 
the Administrator’s discretion. 
SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a grant 
under this Act shall— 
(1) follow the Radon Measurements In Schools 
Guidelines updated pursuant to section 2(b); 
(2) test radon levels in each public school pur-
suant to subsection (b); 
(3) if necessary, mitigate unsafe radon levels 
pursuant to subsection (c); and 
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(4) if necessary, reevaluate mitigation pursuant 
to subsection (d). 
(b) TESTING.—A State that receives a grant under 
this Act shall— 
(1) conduct testing in each public school in 
such State consistent with the Administrator’s 
Radon Measurements In Schools Guidelines updated 
pursuant to section 2(b); 
(2) submit a report to the Administrator— 
(A) describing the results of each test con-
ducted pursuant to paragraph (1); and 
(B) if necessary, estimating the funds nec-
essary to conduct an additional short-term test 
under paragraph (3); and 
(3) in the case of a school that should have ad-
ditional testing, according to initial testing con-
ducted under paragraph (1), conduct such follow-up 
testing consistent with the Administrator’s Radon 
Measurements In Schools Guidelines updated pursu-
ant to section 2(b). 
(c) MITIGATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In the case of a public 
school at which testing conducted under paragraphs 
(1) and (3) of subsection (b) met the recommenda-
tions for mitigation in the Administrator’s Radon 
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Measurements In Schools Guidelines updated pursu-
ant to section 2(b)— 
(A) if the State’s report under paragraph 
(2) includes the certification described in para-
graph (2)(A), the State shall mitigate the radon 
level at the public school by providing funds to 
the local educational agency serving such school 
to enable the agency to carry out the mitigation 
described in paragraph (3); or 
(B) if the State’s report under paragraph 
(2) does not include such certification, the Ad-
ministrator shall carry out the mitigation de-
scribed in paragraph (3), directly or by contract 
funded under this grant program. 
(2) CERTIFICATION; REPORTING.—A State that 
receives a grant under this Act shall— 
(A) if necessary, seek certification from 
each local educational agency that serves each 
public school described in paragraph (1) that 
such agency will, if provided funding pursuant 
to section 3(2)(A), complete the actions de-
scribed in paragraph (3); and 
(B) submit a report to the Administrator 
that— 
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(i) in the case in which a local edu-
cational agency provides certification to the 
State under subparagraph (A), includes 
such certification; 
(ii) describes the results of each test 
at such public school conducted under sub-
section (b); and 
(iii) if necessary, estimates the funds 
necessary to conduct mitigation at such 
public school pursuant to paragraph (3). 
(3) MITIGATION
REQUIREMENTS.—In miti-
gating the radon levels at public schools, the Admin-
istrator or a local educational agency, as appro-
priate, shall— 
(A) work with a qualified radon mitigation 
professional to determine the most effective way 
to mitigate the radon at the public school; 
(B) create a mitigation plan within 3 
months after the completion of the testing 
under subsection (b); 
(C) designate a mitigation unit and imple-
ment the mitigation plan under subparagraph 
(B) within one year after completion of the 
testing under subsection (b); 
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(D) conduct a short-term test not less than 
once every two years; and 
(E) if necessary, conduct the reevaluation 
under subsection (d). 
(d) REEVALUATION.—If the follow-up testing under 
subsection (c)(3)(D) conducted after the mitigation plan 
is implemented results in a radon level that is still meeting 
the recommendations for mitigation in the Administrator’s 
Radon Measurements In Schools Guidelines updated pur-
suant to section 2(b), the local educational agency that 
serves the school shall— 
(1) reevaluate the mitigation plan under sub-
section (c)(3)(B) in consultation with a qualified 
radon mitigation professional; 
(2) create an alternative mitigation plan to re-
place the mitigation plan; 
(3) submit a report to the Administrator— 
(A) describing the results of such annual 
test; and 
(B) estimating the funds necessary to con-
duct reevaluation under this subsection; and 
(4) direct the mitigation unit to implement an 
alternative mitigation plan under subsection (c)(3) 
within 6 months after the date of the follow-up test. 
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SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) MITIGATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘mitigation 
plan’’ means the plan to mitigate radon created by 
the qualified radon mitigation professional in con-
sultation with the local educational agency under 
section 5(c)(3)(B). 
(4) MITIGATION UNIT.—The term ‘‘mitigation 
unit’’ means the individuals designated under section 
5(c)(3)(C) by the local educational agency to imple-
ment the mitigation plan. 
(5) 
PUBLIC
SCHOOL.—The 
term 
‘‘public 
school’’ has the meaning given that term in section 
5145 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7217d). 
(6) QUALIFIED
RADON
MITIGATION
PROFES-
SIONAL.—The term ‘‘qualified radon mitigation pro-
fessional’’ means an individual— 
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(A) licensed, certified, registered, or quali-
fied by a State radon program to mitigate 
radon; 
(B) certified by a national radon profes-
sional organization; or 
(C) approved by the Administrator to miti-
gate radon. 
(7) 
RADON
MEASUREMENTS
IN
SCHOOLS 
GUIDELINES.—The term ‘‘Radon Measurements In 
Schools Guidelines’’ means the report entitled 
‘‘Radon Measurements In Schools’’ produced by the 
Administrator in July 1993, describing current in-
formation and guidance on radon testing in a public 
school. 
(8) RADON ZONE 1.—The term ‘‘Radon Zone 
1’’ means those areas with a predicted average in-
door radon screening level greater than 4 picocuries 
per liter. 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
(10) SHORT-TERM
TEST.—The term ‘‘short- 
term test’’ means a test approved by the Adminis-
trator in which a testing device remains in an area 
for not less than 2 days and not more than 90 days 
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to determine the amount of radon in the air that is 
acceptable for human inhalation. 
(11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States of the United States and the Dis-
trict of Columbia. 
Æ 
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