Illinois Emergency Management Agency calls for home testing of cancer-causing radon


DECATUR - Results of a two-year study released recently found that almost half of 22,000 homes in Illinois tested by professionals had potentially unsafe levels of radon, bringing recommendations by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency for all residents to test for radon in their homes.

"The only way people are going to know if they have high levels in their home is to test. It's a relatively simple thing to do, and you can do it yourself," said Patti Thompson, communications manager for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. "Testing is something everybody should do because radon was found in every county in Illinois."

Macon County was among 10 counties out of 102 counties in Illinois that had between 25 percent and 50 percent of homes with radon levels greater than 4 pCi/L. Radon is measured using pico Curies per liter of water, and any levels above 4 are recommended for mitigation of the radon. Eleven other counties had more than 50 percent of homes with levels greater than 4 pCi/L.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas that comes from the radioactive decay of naturally occurring uranium in the soil, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. It can enter homes and other buildings through sump pumps, soil in crawl spaces or cracks in the foundation and, when undetected, without a test it can cause much harm.

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the nation, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with an estimated 21,000 radon-related lung cancer deaths in the United States each year.

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