WKU News

A team of students in WKU’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has been awarded a $24,971 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a research project on radon mitigation in homes.

WKU’s project, An experimental study to develop affordable non-invasive radon mitigation system for single-family dwellings, was funded as part the People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Program. EPA awarded $399,837 in funding to 16 student teams for their research and innovative solutions to address environmental and public health challenges.

Members of the student team are Construction Management graduates Cameron Blevins of Columbia, Tennessee; Alex Mason of Madison, Indiana; Chris Wilkinson of Stanford; and Daris Payne of Bowling Green; and Peter Hall, a junior Architectural Sciences major from Jeffersontown. Principal investigators are Dr. Bashar Haddad, Assistant Professor of Construction Management, and Dr. O.E. Mansour, Assistant Professor of Architectural Sciences.

This study is part of a larger research project that investigates enhancing indoor air quality in areas with poor air quality. Radon exposure is considered the No. 1 cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.

The aim of the study is to develop a comprehensive measurable guideline to mitigate the indoor radon through the alterations of simple operation and maintenance practices.

The project will help in raising awareness about the presence of radon in homes and will provide an affordable system for enhancing the indoor air quality in areas with high level of radon such Bowling Green.

• Read more about the project at https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract_id/11267/report/0

Contact: EPA Press Office, press@epa.gov

-WKU-

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.