January is National Radon Action Month: San Juan Basin Public Health to provide workshops and radon test kits

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By Chandler Griffin | San Juan Basin Public Health

January is National Radon Action Month, and San Juan Basin Public Health (SJBPH) will hold free radon testing workshops and provide free radon kits to participants.

Approximately half of Colorado homes have radon gas levels that exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s action level. In Colorado, radon is estimated to cause 500 lung cancer deaths each year. Radon gas has no odor or taste, is not visible, and occurs naturally in the soil. Radon enters homes and buildings through small openings. 

The U.S. surgeon general lists radon exposure as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. The Colorado State Board of Health has declared January as Radon Action Month, and state environmental health officials hope residents will take the time to test their homes.

“Testing your home is the best protection against radon and the coldest months of the year are the ideal time to test because radon is more likely to enter a home and stay there due to less ventilation,” said Brian Devine, environmental health director for SJBPH. 

SJBPH radon workshops will be held on the following dates:

• Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m.

• Wednesday, Feb. 2, at noon.

• Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m.

All workshops will be held virtually over Zoom and registration is required. Please visit sjbpublichealth.org/radon for a link to register on Eventbrite and for more information about this preventable health risk. Workshop participants will receive as many free, short-term radon test kits as they need and the confidence to use them correctly.