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Environmental testing summary from Dec. 5 meeting

Dec. 6, 2024

Dear Maroons,

On Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, representatives from Environmental Consulting Services (ECS) Mid-Atlantic, Virginia Department of Health and our college participated in an information session on our campus to share the results of environmental testing conducted here over the last few months.

We contracted with ECS, a national EPA-accredited firm, after an online magazine published an article that implied, without evidence, that there was a link between cancer cases in young alumni and the time they spent at Roanoke College. Although the Virginia Department of Health said there was no evidence of a cancer cluster at Roanoke College — and other local and national health experts we consulted agreed, the college opted to contract with ECS out of an abundance of caution and to ease the minds of concerned community members.

This testing took some time because it was done in a thoughtful, data-informed and scientific manner to achieve thorough and accurate results. We appreciate our community’s patience as we undertook this careful process.

For those who were unable to attend Thursday’s information session, I would like to provide you with a summary of the testing scope and results:

Per ECS recommendations, the testing was conducted in three categories: radon, lead in water, and sub-slab vapors. Since students spend the most time in residence halls over their four years at college, we focused our initial testing in our Main Campus residence halls. Testing on the Elizabeth Campus is now underway, and those results will be shared when that process wraps up.

The overall battery of tests on our Main Campus revealed no systemic ongoing environmental concerns. Any concerns identified were addressed with remediation and re-testing. ECS has shared that, compared to other campuses they have tested — and considering the age of our campus — our results were remarkably good.

Radon Testing

Radon is a radioactive gas that is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It is produced by the natural decay of uranium in soil, rock and groundwater. Short-term radon testing services at Roanoke were performed by Certified Radon Measurement Specialists according to industry guidelines. The tests were placed in the lowest occupied level of buildings, where radon is typically highest. They were also placed on 10% of the upper floors to account for building pressure differentials.

Samples were collected in typical living spaces (dorm rooms or common areas) over a 48- to 96-hour period under closed building conditions. Warning signs were used to minimize tampering during sample collection. The samples were sent for analysis to AccuStar Labs, which is accredited under the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program.

Of the 397 samples collected from our residence halls, just three locations were found to be at or slightly above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action level of 4 pCi/L. ECS recommended a 91-day period of additional testing before considering remediation, but Roanoke College elected to move forward with installation of a radon mitigation system in all three spaces.

Lead in Water

Samples were collected by ECS according to procedures outlined by the U.S. EPA for reduction of lead in drinking water in schools. Appliances/faucets in residence halls were flushed the evening before samples were collected by ECS, and those samples were sent to a Virginia- and U.S. EPA-accredited laboratory, Environmental Hazard Services, LLC, of Richmond.

ECS collected a total of 395 water samples from our residence halls, and 14 were reported above the EPA action level. Each of those 14 sources was either removed from service, marked as non-potable, or the faucets were replaced and re-tested. Once those fixtures were replaced, the location was sampled again according to the same protocol. None of those follow-up samples were reported above the EPA action level.

Volatile Compounds in Sub-Slab Vapor  

Sub-slab vapors can be present in the soil or fill directly under a building’s lowest floor and, if present, those vapors may intrude into upper levels of the building. To collect sub-slab vapor samples, testing points are established by drilling holes through the floor slab into the soil.

ECS installed collection points through the ground floor of each Main Campus residence hall, gathering a total of 48 samples. Following successful leak tests, the sub-slab vapor samples were collected into 1.4-liter Summa canisters over a 30-minute interval for analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) via EPA Method TO-15. Samples were sent to Maryland Spectral Analysis, an independent laboratory that is certified under the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP).

Of the 65 VOCs tested for, three were detected at concentrations that exceeded their respective screening levels: carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and tetrachloroethene. Only two of these samples (Bartlett Hall and Chalmers Hall) required full quantitative risk calculations and remediation. It’s important to note that these risk calculations assume a lifetime exposure (70 years) to these chemicals, which is much more conservative than the typical one- to four-year college experience.

Nevertheless, to address these concerns, a vapor mitigation system has already been designed and installed at Bartlett Hall, and a system will be installed at Chalmers Hall over Winter Break.

Other Testing

Based on inquiries and concerns raised by the faculty and staff about the age and condition of Trout, Miller and the Administration Building, the college asked ECS to conduct additional testing. ECS conducted radon, lead and sub-slab vapor testing in Trout and Miller halls. They also completed an initial mold and moisture assessment at Trout and Miller halls and the Administration Building – three of the oldest buildings on campus. Those results are as follows: 

    • All of the water and sub-slab vapor testing in Miller and Trout came back within safe levels, and no further work is required.
    • Of the 25 samples collected for radon testing at Trout and Miller halls, four locations (two in each) were found to be at or slightly above the U.S. EPA action level of 4 pCi/L. ECS recommended a 91-day period of additional testing before considering remediation, but the college elected to move forward with installation of a mitigation system in all four spaces.
    • ECS also collected moisture readings from Miller, Trout and the Administration Building. High levels of moisture and humidity can result in mold growth, and although the EPA does not classify mold as a carcinogen, it does classify it as an allergen.
    • As with many buildings of this age, all three buildings were observed to have moisture intrusion problems, which ranged from window and roof leaks to aging mechanical systems such as HVAC. ECS is working with Roanoke College and other specialists, including architects and engineers, to establish short- and long-term measures to identify and correct water intrusion problems.

Roanoke College has a beautiful campus, in large part because of our wonderful historic buildings. These buildings, while integral to the beauty and character of our 182-year-old campus, require consistent maintenance. Specifically, there have been persistent challenges with moisture infiltration facilitated by deferred maintenance. For example, testing in 2023 showed high mold counts in some isolated areas of both Miller Hall and the Administration Building after water/moisture infiltration. The college is committed to addressing this deferred maintenance and making infrastructure a crucial priority.

In fact, at our Board of Trustees meeting in October, the board reaffirmed its commitment to investing in the upkeep and enhancement of our campus facilities as a vital aspect of student success. During that campus visit, the trustees toured our residence halls and acknowledged the need to address deferred maintenance. This is also why facility upgrades are one of six imperatives of Roanoke’s new strategic plan: “To develop an on-campus residential experience that is an exemplar of a 21st century learning laboratory—beautiful, integrated, practical, and inspiring.”

The safety and well-being of our entire college community continues to be of the utmost importance to us, and we greatly appreciate your interest in this process. I hope these results will be received in the good faith manner in which they were offered, and I pledge to provide further updates as we continue this important work. Those updates will be posted to the college’s Community Messages page.

Warm Regards,

Frank Shushok, Jr., Ph.D.
President