For Immediate Release:

Please contact:

Terry Krohn, Director

Two Rivers Public Health Department

701 4^th Avenue, Suite 1

Holdrege, NE  68949

308-995-4778

1-888-669-7154

 

PROTECTING OUR DISTRICT’S HEALTH IN THEIR HOMES

RADON – A SILENT KILLER

Holdrege, Nebraska — Two Rivers Public Health Departmentis working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a nationwide campaign to educate Americans about the dangers of radon exposure and to encourage them to take action to protect their homes and families. In our district, Two Riversis offering radon test kits at only $5.00 per kitduring National Radon Action Month in January.  Two Rivers serves Buffalo, Dawson, Franklin, Gosper, Harlan Kearney and Phelps Counties.

 

Nebraska has a very high incidence of radon in homes; over half of homes that test in the state have levels above the action level of 4.0 pCi/L. Radon is a naturally occurring invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that is dispersed in outdoor air, but can reach harmful levels when trapped in buildings. Scientists have long been concerned about the health risk of radon, but never before has there been such overwhelming proof that exposure to elevated levels of radon causes lung cancer in humans.

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year. Radon is the leading second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. after smoking and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. “However,” says Heather Easton  from Two Rivers Public Health Department, “because you can’t see or smell radon, people tend to downplay the health effects and ignore the possibility that there might be a silent killer in their homes.”

 

Testing homes for elevated levels of radon is simple and inexpensive. Radon test kits can be purchased at local hardware and home improvement stores or directly from radon testing companies. Two Rivers has testing kits for purchase for only $5.00.  Radon problems can be fixed by qualified contractors for a cost similar to that of many common home repairs such as painting or having a new water heater installed.

 

Two rivers Public Health Department urges Nebraska residents to take action during this year’s National Radon Action Month by testing their homes for radon. Radon poses a serious threat to our community’s health but there is a straightforward solution. For more information on radon, radon testing and mitigation, and radon-resistant new construction, call Two Rivers Public Health Department at (308) 995-4778 or visit our website at: www.tworiverspublichealth.com, or visit EPA’s National Radon Action Month Web site at www.epa.gov/radon/nram.