Radon

The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is naming this year’s student winners in a poster contest designed to raise awareness about radon and radon testing.

Radon is an invisible, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas found in the soil that can cause lung cancer if it reaches dangerous levels in homes.

More than 150 contest entries were received. First and second place winners in each categories earned prizes.

1st Place, 8th Grader from Cheyenne

2nd Place, 6th Grader from Alva

2nd Place, 9th Grader from Sheridan

Radon is a radioactive gas that doesn’t have a color, odor, or taste. Radon seeps up from the earth into the air we breathe, and comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in almost all soil.

To find out more about radon, please visit the EPA radon website.

Your home can be at risk for radon if it is:

• New
• Old
• Well-sealed
• Drafty
• Built with a basement
• Built without a basement

Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Your home traps radon inside, where it can build up.

Any home may have a radon problem. This means homes can be at risk for radon whether it is new, old, well-sealed, drafty, with or without a basement.

Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels.

If radon is allowed to accumulate, it becomes a health concern.

Exposure to the radioactive particles in radon can damage the cells that line the lung and can cause lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Wyoming. The EPA estimates that radon causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year in the United States.

Radon can make the lung damage caused by smoking worse, putting smokers with elevated radon levels in their homes at an even higher risk for lung cancer.

The Wyoming Department of Health provides free home radon test kits.

Test kits should be used in the lowest livable level of the home (crawl spaces not included) and placed in a central location. Test kits should not be placed next to windows, vents or any area that could cause a draft around the test kit, which could affect the results. Test kits should also be placed in a manner to prevent them from being kicked, bumped or disturbed. Once complete, follow the instructions on the test kit to send it to the laboratory directly. 

Click here to order a test kit online (limit one per order). If more than one test kit is required, please call the Wyoming Radon Program at 307.777.6015 to place the order. For questions or more information, contact the Wyoming Radon Program at 307.777.6015.

If the test kit finds elevated radon levels in your home, please see “Find a radon service provider” below. These services are relatively simple and can usually be completed in about a day, providing an immediate reduction in radon levels.

Please visit AARST-NRPP.com to find a certified radon service provider near you.