Date Published: 01/10/2020 [Source]
January is National Radon Action Month, and San Juan Basin Public Health (SJBPH) will hold free radon testing workshops and provide free radon kits to participants.
Approximately half of Colorado homes have radon gas levels that exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's action level. In Colorado, radon is estimated to cause 500 lung cancer deaths each year.
Radon gas has no odor or taste, is not visible and occurs naturally in the soil. Radon enters homes and buildings through small openings. The U.S. surgeon general lists radon exposure as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
"The best protection against radon is to test in your home and January is the ideal time to test because radon is more likely to enter a home and stay there during the coldest months of the year," said Brian Devine, interim environmental health director for SJBPH.