This upcoming Monday, the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners is expected to host a news conference addressing high radon levels after they were recently detected in the basement of the Old Courthouse building.
Vanderburgh County Commissioners say they were made aware of elevated levels of radon in the sub-basement.
In those areas, people have worked in the past, especially for a regular haunted attraction at Halloween. The attraction will now move the underground catacombs beneath the House of Lector on Main Street.
According to Vanderburgh County Commissioner Justin Elpers, high levels of radon in the courthouse sub-basement forced the move this year.
Some employees are complaining of health issues that they are trying to understand if they are associated with the heavy presence of radon in the Old Courthouse Catacombs.
It’s totally legitimate to be concerned about whether any exposure to radon can cause one or more of the several health issues that are occurring in past employees.
The news conference will be at 1:30 p.m. with those concerns as the topic of reporting to the media.
A spokesperson with the Catacombs stated that there was no unawareness of any issue with radon in the building until they were contacted by county commissioners on May 20.
This is a situation that will occur more and more frequently in the future, as the dangers and presence of radon in any building will be a concern.
Increasing awareness will make people wonder if any of their diseases can be attributed to radon exposure.
It will be a significant cause of very uncertain lawsuits as there is still a lot to be discovered about the effects of radon on the human body, and many pathologies are not unequivocally linked to exposure to radon.
It can cause significant health issues, but also legal, financial, and practical ones that can be avoided or reduced by raising awareness about the hazards that come from the presence of radon.
Another reason to find out about the presence of radon in buildings, especially at the lowest levels where radon is more likely to accumulate, is before issues like the above occur.
