By Eric Stock
NORMAL – McLean County and much of central and northern Illinois is considered a high risk area for radon gas, the second-leading cause of lung cancer.
Ecology Action Center is offering free radon testing kits to Habitat for Humanity homeowners for a limited time and is selling them to the rest of the public for $10.
“We really need to get the radiation out of our homes,” director of the Radon Awareness Program Ruth Ann Lipic said. “To put a dent in these terrible lung cancer numbers. They are huge.”
Lipic said more than 170,000 people die of lung cancer every year, more than all other cancers combined.
An odorless, colorless gas, radon is the second-leading causes of lung cancer behind smoking.
“At this time they only thing we can do is prevent it,” Lipic noted.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the National Radon Safety Board estimates nearly 1 in 15 homes in the U.S. radon levels higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency recommends.
Lipic said all homes, no matter how old they are, should be tested every two years.
A state law passed in 2013 requires all new residential buildings have a passive radon mitigation system.
McLean is one of 24 counties in Illinois in which more than half of the homes tested had elevated radon levels.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
