The Guilford County Department of Public Health is reminding citizens that January is Radon Action Awareness month.  Merle Green, Health Director, urges citizens to test their homes for radon, a cancer-causing invisible, odorless radioactive gas, reiterating the serious health risk posed by exposure to elevated levels of radon in indoor air.Thousands of Americans die each year due to radon-related cancer, the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.  The National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimate that in the U.S., radon in homes causes 21,100 lung cancer deaths each year and 2,900 of these deaths occur among people who never have smoked.  Green states, “It may be the most potent carcinogen in your home.  Levels that exceed 4 pCi/L  represent a serious public health risk.”  Green is working through educational efforts to increase public awareness, encourage residential testing and mitigation of those homes that tested above the action level.

Radon is naturally occurring and comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rocks entering homes through cracks in basements, foundations and floor drains.  Radon can build to unhealthy levels, especially during colder months when windows and doors are kept closed.  For more information about radon, visit http://www.epa.gov/radon.  If you have not previously had your home tested for radon and are interested in testing your home, please call Sandy Ellington with the Guilford County Department of Public Health at 641-6404.  Free radon testing kits will be distributed to interested citizens through its Environmental Health Division while supplies last.