The Nebraska Health and Human Services Department has provided grant funding to the Central District Health Department to start a radon awareness drive under the Environmental Protection Agency, recognizing January as National Radon Action Month.

The Central District Health Department has decided to give radon test kits to the residents of Hall, Hamilton and Merrick County free of charge, for National Radon Action Month. The tests include free lab analysis and postage-paid envelopes.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that occurs naturally. It has been identified as a main cause of lung cancer, coming next to just cigarette smoking, in the United States.

The most recent health risk assessment by EPA has estimated that every year 21,000 people die because of lung cancer due to radon. The sole way to detect the presence of radon at elevated levels in home is to test for it.

According to the Health Department, children could be more vulnerable to health complications due to it because their lungs are not fully developed. The sensitive tissues in children’s lungs are at more risk.

Smokers are 15 times more vulnerable to lung cancer than nonsmokers if exposed to radon. Radon occurs naturally, and comes from the natural decay of uranium, present in almost all soils.

The gas usually make its way up through the ground to the air above, entering into homes afterwards through cracks and holes in the foundation.

According to the Health Department any home, including new and old homes, well-sealed and drafty homes and homes with or without basements, can face a radon problem.

The usage period of short-term radon detectors is three to seven days. They give quick screening measurements, signaling potential radon issues.