January 12, 2023
January is observed as National Radon Awareness Month. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can impact indoor air quality. You cannot see or smell radon. It typically moves up through the ground to the air above through cracks and gaps in homes and buildings. Any home can have a radon problem including new homes and homes with or without a basement.
Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers according to estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is responsible for nearly 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year. Smokers who are exposed to radon are at an even higher risk of developing radon-induced lung cancer.
States in EPA Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations) fall into the EPA’s Radon Zone One. Areas in this zone have the highest potential to test above the recommended radon level assigned by the EPA, which is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Of kits tested in our district since our program began in 2002, the average level is 8.6 pCi/L.
Public Health Solutions encourages everyone residing in this zone to #TestYourNest for the presence of radon gas. Test kits are free and can be picked up at our Crete PHS office, as well as UNL Extension offices in our district, including Wilber, Geneva, Hebron, Fairbury, Beatrice.
To learn more about radon and testing your home or business, follow the hashtag #TestYourNest on Twitter and visit https://www.epa.gov/radon, or call our office at 402-826-3880.
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