Down to Earth Blog

Yes, January is National Radon Action Month and both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General recommend you test your home for radon, which is a cancer-causing natural radioactive gas that you can’t see, smell or taste

According to the EPA, "Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims more than 20,000 lives annually." Visit their radon site for more info.

When I got the press release from EPA about Radon Action Month, it struck a chord with me, because my good friends' mom just passed away in December -- and she had lung cancer but was not a smoker. She also had brain tumors and they don't know the cause of death, so it wasn't necessarily a direct connection to the lung cancer.

This opened my eyes to the fact that people who don't smoke can still get lung cancer. Radon is apparently a big culprit. So, if you have never tested your house, try testing it this month. The EPA stresses that everyone should test their home. They have a map of radon zones on their Web site, but they stress that all homes should be tested regardless of location. Use the map as a rough guide, I guess.

The EPA site has some good resources and a link to the National Safety Council, which sells discounted radon test kits. Check it out.

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