• By Minor Barnette
• Posted Monday, January 5, 2015

January is National Radon Action Month

As the winter season brings colder weather to North Carolina and families close windows and doors to keep warm, now is an excellent time to make plans for radon testing in your home.

Radon is the odorless, colorless gas that is formed by the decay of uranium in the ground and can accumulate inside homes and other structures. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers in the United States. Exposure to radon in the home is responsible for an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year.

January is National Radon Action Month and two Forsyth County agencies are partnering with the NC Radon program to provide free radon test kits to Forsyth County residents. A limited supply of short-term radon test kits are being made available locally. They may be picked up on weekdays between 8am and 5pm at the Department of Public Health's Environmental Health office located at 799 North Highland Avenue and at the Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection in the Government Center at 201 North Chestnut Street, while supplies last. Please call Environmental Health at (336) 703-3225 or the Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection at (336) 703-2440 to verify availability or for additional information.

Approximately 7,000 free kits are being distributed statewide. Only one kit per home is needed to determine the indoor radon level. The North Carolina Radon Program website (www.ncradon.org) will have a list of all 83 participating organizations across North Carolina and will also have a limited supply of free kits available for delivery by mail. Once the supply of free kits have been exhausted, the NC Radon Program website will continue providing short-term radon test kits at a reduced cost of $5.34 for a kit that retails for $15.

The Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection also has short-term radon test kits available year-round for $6 each and long-term kits for $14 each.