Aside from it being National Soup Month, National CBD Month, and National Oatmeal Month, among others, January is also National Radon Action Month. While you may want to indulge in soup, CBD, and/or oatmeal, you definitely don’t want radon on your plate or in the house. The month of January was chosen to alert people to this problem since most houses don’t air out like they do in the warmer months. Houses that have closed windows and doors are more vulnerable to having high levels of radon.
According to Communications Specialist Gabi Boerkircher of Boulder County, 54% of homes in the state have unhealthy levels of radon in them. Boulder County has it fairly bad. Radon is the byproduct of naturally occurring uranium, and can be found in soil and rock, especially granite, around the state. It is odorless, colorless, and its presence can only be confirmed by a radon detector.
Radon is a contributor to lung cancer. Each year in Colorado, about 500 deaths are attributed to radon exposure. If you don’t have a radon remediation system (they are usually in the basement or lowest level of a house), you may need one. These systems remove radon gas and send it outdoors.
If you would like to test for radon, help is available through the county as well as other organizations which provide such testing services at little charge. EnergySmart, Boulder County’s residential sustainability program, is offering a free radon test kit as part of an energy audit, noted Boerkircher. EnergySmart’s kit is available at 303-544-1000. Discounted radon test kits can be purchased here. Results are normally available in two to four days.