TROUTDALE, Ore. — Some Gresham firefighters have had to move to other fire stations after initial testing revealed elevated levels of radon — a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas — inside one of their firehouses.
Radon, which occurs naturally, comes from the rocks and soil in the ground. In this part of Oregon — both in the Gorge and in the Willamette Valley — experts have found higher radon levels. The only way to know whether a home or building has elevated levels is to test it.
In Troutdale, Gresham firefighters from Station 75 moved out Thursday, after a test showed levels of radon more than three times what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the cutoff point.
According to documents received by KGW, tests that were part of a bigger-picture look at Gresham Fire stations found the radon level was 13.7 pCi/L. Experts say anything above 4 pCi/L raises red flags.
"I was very surprised when I heard that and then obviously as we Googled and tried to figure out what what this means to the people that are working in the facility, you know, eyebrows are getting raised and like, what are we, what are we doing here?" said Kevin Larson, the Union President for Local 1062. "The results came in and they were found out [Thursday] morning. After that, all the wheels went in motion to get our firefighters out of that facility so they're safe."
A spokesperson for the city of Gresham said following the advisement of the EPA, they recently contracted testing for radon in some city buildings, as well as fire stations used by Gresham firefighters.
After a short-term test was conducted at Fire Station 75 that indicated an elevated radon level, the city indicated they'd follow up with a second test. They said, out of an abundance of caution, the city is temporarily relocating the handful of personnel there to other stations for a couple of weeks, while they implement mitigation measures.
"The Portland metropolitan area has one of the highest radon levels around. One out of four homes in the Portland metro area has elevated levels that would require mitigation," said Charles Lewis, a certified master inspector with Nonprofit Home Inspections.
Not only do inspectors frequently test for radon, they offer free tests to low- or middle-income families who want to check their own homes for the radioactive gas.
Lewis said, exposure to radon over time — months or years — can be dangerous, especially to firefighters.
"With this level of radon in the station there, it is alarming," he said. "If you are a smoker and exposed to radon, your risk of lung cancer is much higher, so you can imagine with a firefighter who is exposed to all kinds of contaminants while working to protect us, but then they come back to the station and get exposed to radon, it's just unconscionable. We got to get it taken care of and take care of our firefighters so that they can best take care of us as well."
The city of Gresham reported that they're currently working on evaluating conditions at all of its fire stations, and stated that this Tuesday, Gresham City Council directed an investment of $1.3 million in federal ARPA funding to ensure the fire stations are safe.