Date Published: 11/05/2007 [Source]
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is encouraging people to test their homes for radon, a radioactive gas known to cause lung cancer. Testing is the only way to find out if your home has elevated levels of this cancer-causing radioactive gas.
In September 2006, IEMA released a report showing that nearly half of 22,000 Illinois homes tested by professional radon measurement contractors had potentially unsafe levels of radon. The study also found 80 counties where few, if any, professional tests for the naturally occurring radioactive gas were conducted during the two-year study period.
IEMA is working to increase the number of home radon tests conducted throughout the state, and since early 2006 has made free radon test kits available to Illinois residents.