Free radon test kits at Routt County Public Health
Suzie Romig/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Officials at Routt County Public Health are encouraging community members to test their homes for radon in January during National Radon Action Month.
The county’s public health office at 135 Sixth St. in Steamboat Springs has short-term radon test kits available for free for community members to test their personal homes.
Radon is a naturally occurring, tasteless, colorless, odorless and radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in the soil and can permeate a home. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among people without a history of smoking. Approximately 21,000 deaths in the U.S. are related to radon-caused lung cancer each year, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The only way to know if a home has high radon levels is to test, and the age or type of home does not determine whether high levels of radon are present. In Colorado, about half of homes have radon levels higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended action level of 4 picocuries per liter.
If radon remediation in necessary, the state health department offers a Low-Income Radon Mitigation Assistance program for those who qualify.
Learn more at Radon 101 at CDPHE.colorado.gov/hm/Radon-FAQ or ColoradoRadon.info.
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