Press Release
The Southeast Utah Health Department would like to remind everyone that January is “Radon Action Month.”
Radon is a naturally occurring colorless, odorless, tasteless and radioactive gas that seeps up from the ground into the lower levels of buildings. Radon is more present in Utah than in much of the country (radon is present in about 1 in 3 Utah homes vs. 1 in 15 homes nationwide). Continual radon exposure can lead to lung cancer and it is estimated that there are about 22,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States every year as a results of long term radon exposure.
According to Eleanor Divver, the Indoor Radon Coordinator for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. most people don’t realize that next to smoking radon is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer. “Utah has the lowest smoking rate, but not the lowest lung cancer rate—and naturally occurring radon is the reason,” she said.
Local Health Officer Dave Cunningham encourages people to have their homes tested. In Carbon County, about 31% of 150 homes tested so far have had high levels of radon. Only 36 homes in Emery County have been tested, of which 36% have shown high levels of radon. In Grand County, 13% of 113 homes tested so far have shown high levels. Cunningham mentioned that “testing your home is very simple and inexpensive – and it can give you great peace of mind to know if you need to address a radon situation or not.” Two-day test kits cost $8 and can be obtained from Radon.Utah.gov. If you discover that your home does have high levels of radon, most remediation efforts can be completed for less than $1,500.
Cunningham stated that “the Southeast Utah Health Department would like to promote radon awareness in our communities and we are willing to help educate individuals and groups that would like to know more about radon.” For more information, call 435-637-3671 in Carbon and Emery counties and 435-259-5602 in Grand County.