Greene
County Combined Health District
Announces Xenia High School
Winners of the Countywide School Radon Challenge
(Xenia, Ohio) Greene County Combined Health District announced that Xenia High School was the winner of the Countywide School Radon Challenge. Sophomore chemistry students will be rewarded for their success with a pizza party.
The Countywide Radon Challenge, a project sponsored by the Greene County Combined Health District and the Ohio Department of Health, was initiated to educate students about radon and to increase the number of Greene County homes tested for radon.
Sophomore
science students from Cedar Cliff High School, Fairborn High School, Greene
Academy and Xenia High School competed to have the highest percentage of
students test their homes for radon using test kits provided by the Greene
County Combined Health District (GCCHD). GCCHD
provided the test kits free of charge to the students from a Radon Education
Grant funded by the Ohio Department of Health.
A
total of 289 homes were tested and received a lab analysis of radon levels.
Margaret
Burns, Radon Education Program Coordinator stated, "the participation of
the teachers and students was instrumental in the success of the radon
challenge. The goal of the program is to increase home testing in Greene
County.”
Radon is a naturally occurring, odorless, tasteless, invisible, radioactive gas that is produced by the decay of radium in the soil. It can enter homes through cracks in the foundation, through unsealed sumps, construction joints and openings around drains and pipes. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer, and in Greene County approximately half the homes have levels of radon at or above the “action level” set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It is recommended that homes with levels of radon at or above 4 picouries per liter of air be corrected by a licensed mitigation specialist.
Greene
County Combined Health District provides free test kits and all residents are
encouraged to get one. Test kits are available at 360 Wilson Drive, Xenia, Ohio,
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For more information about radon and radon testing, contact Greene County Combined Health District, Margaret Burns, Health Educator, (937) 374-5600 or 1-866-858-3588, extension 5658.
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