For the past six years, Mindy Freedman has been sending her two sons to Fallsmead Elementary School in Montgomery County, and never had an issue -- until now.
"I was enraged," Freedman said, after she saw a radon report from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) that shows 28 out of 202 schools have elevated radon levels.
According to the EPA, exposure to high levels of the naturally occurring, odorless gas can cause lung cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers four picocuries or less to be safe.
The Lathrop E. Smith Environmental Education Center in Rockville had the highest levels, with nearly three times that amount. The report shows levels as high as 5.3 were found in 16 rooms at Fallsmead Elementary.
But what makes parents like Freedman even more upset is that the tests were conducted three years ago, and nothing was done about it.
"That was a mistake on our part," said Brian Edwards, the chief communications officer for MCPS.
He said a mistake was made by the indoor air quality team and was only discovered a few weeks ago.
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"We're going to test; we're going to see if any remediation needs to occur and then we're going to do remediation and we'll be good to go," he said.
Edwards says the school district is sending home letters to parents, letting them know about the situation, but he insists students are safe.
"Only when you get to the level of 100 do you need to get out of the classroom," he said.
But according to the EPA, "Even radon levels below four pCi/L (picocuries per liter) pose some risk, and the risk of lung cancer can be reduced by lowering radon levels."
That's what MCPS officials say they plan on doing over the next few weeks -- but many parents are left wondering about potential health issues down the line.
School officials were set to attend Tuesday night's PTA meeting at Fallsmead to discuss the radon levels and answer questions parents have. The school district says they will post the dates that each affected school will be re-tested and will share the results on its website.
MCPS said all schools will be in compliance with EPA standards by the beginning of next year.
