Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Encourages Home Radon Testing During Radon Action Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2024
Contact
Jennifer Schroeder,
Environmental Health Specialist II
217-531-2929 /
Tanya Giannotti, Public Relations
217-531-2925 /
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Encourages Home Radon Testing During Radon Action Month
Radon Gas Causes More Than 20,000 Lung Cancer Deaths in the Country Every Year; Champaign County’s Tested Homes on Average are Above the Radon Action Level
CHAMPAIGN, IL – January is National Radon Action Month, and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) encourages citizens to learn more about the threat of radon and to test their homes, schools, and workplaces for its presence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to indoor radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas released into the air from decaying matter in rocks, soil and water. While levels in outdoor air are relatively harmless, radon can accumulate to dangerous levels inside buildings. Radon is an invisible threat; it cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted. The only way to detect radon is to perform a radon test.
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District has home radon test kits currently available for $7.00, which can be picked up at the Environmental Health Division at 201 W. Kenyon Road in Champaign, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A free t-shirt is also available with purchase until supplies run out. The test kits provided by CUPHD are safe and easy to use.
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L). The EPA recommends that homes with radon levels of 4 pCi/L or higher should be mitigated. Nationally, the average home reading is about 1.3 pCi/L. The average outdoor reading is about 0.4 pCi/L. The average radon level in tested Champaign County homes is 4.9 which is above the action level. A list of licensed measurement and mitigation professionals
as well as the radon average for counties in Illinois can be found at https://iemaohs.illinois.gov/nrs/radon.html.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) has a school screening program available to help schools with the cost of performing radon testing. The Illinois School Code allows district employees to complete an IEMA-approved online training course to perform radon screening, which eliminates the cost of hiring a licensed radon measurement contractor. More information on this program can be found at https://iema.illinois.gov/nrs/radon/schoolscreeningprogram.html.
Additionally, the American Lung Association along with the IEMA host the annual statewide Illinois Radon Poster Contest and Illinois Radon Video Contest for school-aged kids. More information, as well as last year’s winners and honorable mentions, can be found at https://www.lung.org/local- content/il/radon-poster and https://www.lung.org/local-content/il/radon-video.
For more information on radon and home radon test kits, contact CUPHD at 217-373-7900 or visit www.c-uphd.org/radon.
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