Date Published: 01/23/2020 [Source]
Carson Valley Middle School student Ayden Strange from Gardnerville placed first in the 2020 Nevada Radon Poster Contest with his poster, "The Invisible Reaper."
University of Nevada, Reno Extension's Radon Education Program conducts the Nevada Radon Poster Contest each year to educate students and their families on the dangers of radon in the home, and to encourage Nevadans to test their homes for radon, a radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that comes from the ground. Radon can accumulate in homes and can increase the risk of developing lung cancer.
This is the 11th year that the Nevada Radon Education Program has held the contest, which is open to children ages 9 to 14. The contest is sponsored by the Nevada Radon Education Program; Extension; the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
This year's Nevada Radon Poster Contest had 61 entries. Posters were judged on information accuracy, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. Winning posters were chosen by Facebook likes; votes from program partners and volunteers; and votes from personnel from the state Radiation Control Program; Nevada's radon industry; Extension; the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources; and the Nevada Radon Education Program.
The Nevada Radon Education Program is a program of University of Nevada, Reno Extension and is funded by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health through Grant Number K1-96963520-0 from the EPA. Since the program began in 2007, more than 30,000 homes have been tested in Nevada.
Free test kits are available at Extension offices and partner locations throughout the state until the end of February.