News Release
Janaury 4, 2007
Xenia, Ohio, January 2007 – The Greene County Combined Health District and the Ohio Department of Health in connection with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency announce January as National Radon Action Month. In a collaborative campaign to educate Americans about the dangers of radon exposure, all citizens are invited to pick up a radon test kit and test their homes for the presence of this invisible, odorless but cancer causing gas. The purpose of this month is to draw attention to radon as a serious public health issue and, more importantly, to motivate Americans to take action to protect themselves from radon health effects. It is a health hazard that is present in elevated levels in about 50% of area homes.
Radon is an indoor air quality concern because it can be trapped in buildings and be harmful at elevated levels. There is a tendency to minimize the health effects and ignore the possibility that radon exists because it is invisible and odorless. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in February, 1998 presented the findings of their Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VI Report: “The Health Effects of Exposure to Indoor Radon.” This report by the NAS is the most definitive accumulation of scientific data on indoor radon. The report confirms that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and that it is a serious public health problem. The NAS concluded that radon causes between 15,000 and 22,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. each year.
Testing homes for elevated levels of radon is simple and inexpensive. And, if discovered, radon problems can be fixed. Radon test kits that meet EPA guidelines are available free to area residents at the Greene County Combined Health District and other locations around Greene County, including the Fairborn Government Center, and both the Beavercreek and Bellbrook Administrative Offices. Kits will continue to be available after the month of January.
The Greene County Combined Health District urges Greene County residents to take action during this year’s National Radon Action Month by testing their homes for elevated levels of radon. It is a serious public health hazard with a straightforward solution. For more information on radon, radon testing, and radon mitigation, call the Greene County Combined Health District at 271-0508.
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