Public Health Officials Want Homeowners To Test For Radon
An EPA map showing Radon zones in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/Public Domain
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District wants people to test their homes for Radon gas. Public health officials have an inexpensive way to test homes.
Radon is a natural, colorless, ordorless gas that can collect in homes. Long-term exposure can cause lung cancers. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers in the U.S.
The good news is that people can test their house for Radon. Jennifer Schroeder with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District says if the test comes back positive for Radon, workers can install a vent in the house to make it safe. "It actually pulls out the air and takes the Radon from the subslab of your floor and takes it out all the way through the roof," Schroeder explained.
People can pick up a Radon testing kit at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District offices for five dollars. After the test, homeowners mail the kit off to a lab.
If the result comes back positive, Public Health will work with homeowners to vent the Radon out of the house.
Officials report that they’ve found high Radon levels in 48% of the homes tested so far in Champaign County.