Date Published: 12/16/2009 [Source]
A recent University of Kentucky study of radon in homes showed that more than one third of the homes tested in Northern Kentucky are at or above federal limits for the odorless, colorless radioactive soil gas that is a known health hazard.
The five residents whose homes had the highest levels were recognized at a reception and given free radon mitigation systems.
The "Test and Win Research Study" was sponsored by the Northern Kentucky office of the Clean Indoor Air Partnership at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. A total of 193 Boone, Kenton and Campbell County residents enrolled in the study.
Eligible residents received a short-term radon test kit to place in their homes and return to be analyzed.
Seventy-one percent of the test kits were returned showing radon levels ranging from 0.5 to 49.3 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L). The Environmental Protection Agency recommends mitigation procedures for homes at or above 4 pCi/L, which is the equivalent of the radiation from 200 unprotected chest x-rays a year. Thirty-seven percent of the homes tested at or above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L.
For more information about radon, visit www.nkyradon.org.