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Jed Boal Reporting Radon gas may not be on your radar, but if you've never tested your home the push is on this month to get you to do it. Putting it off could have serious consequences for your health.
It's a simple test and inexpensive too. It's Radon Action Month and the state estimates one in three Utah homes has too much Radon.
The Governor today urged all of us to consider the dangers of indoor radon gas. Two Olympus Jr. High School students who won local poster contests showed off their works of art.
There's no way to see which home has high radon levels, but it silently seeps into our homes.
John Hultquist, Utah Division of Radiation Control: "About seventy percent of the homes do not have a problem with radon. And 25 to 30 percent will have a level above the EPA action level of 4 pico curies per liter."
Radon comes from decaying uranium in the soil. The radioactive gas seeps into our homes. We breathe it and over time the trapped particles cause lung cancer. In fact, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking.
John Hultquist, Utah Division of Radiation Control: "There's a lot of non-geological factors that come into play when you start looking at actual radon concentrations in homes. Your neighbor might have seventy and you might have two. The only way to really know is to test your own home."
Tests are cheap and only take a few days. Follow the directions closely. Set out the filter or envelope, seal it up after a few days and send it into the lab for analysis.
John Hultquist, Utah Division of Radiation Control: "The radon will diffuse through the cloth and through the mesh, and deposit on the charcoal itself."
If the lab results alert you to a level above 4, consult the DEQ website about follow-up testing and how to fix the problem.
One kit runs for ten dollars at the Utah Safety Council, or you can pick up at stores like K-Mart or Wal-Mart.
For a lot of detailed information on radon testing, click on the links to the right.
