Dodge County Public Health Talks National Radon Action Month

(Dodge County) January is National Radon Action Month, and the Dodge County Human Services and Health Department is warning citizens about exposure to this colorless, odorless, and radioactive gas.  Dodge County Public Health Officer Abby Sauer explained in a recent communication that Radon is the nation’s leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and second leading cause of lung cancer among smokers.

The Dodge County Public Health Department says that although Radon is naturally present in the ground it can enter buildings through their foundations. Both old and newer homes can be susceptible to radon, with the only way to know if the level of radon in your home is dangerous is to test it.  The Dodge County Human Services and Health Department – Public Health Unit offer free radon test kits to citizens while supplies last.

State statistics indicate that between 5 and 10 percent of homes in Wisconsin have elevated airborne concentrations of radon in significantly occupied spaces. Wisconsin is home to more than 80 radon mitigation contractors, who are nationally certified, and who can install highly effective soil-depressurization radon control systems. Thousands of these systems are installed in existing homes in Wisconsin each year with much of the states new construction including features to reduce radon entry as recommended by the standards for green building from the National Association of Home Builders.

Radon test kits are available free of charge from the Dodge County Human Services and Health Department via their Public Health Unit, 199 County Road DF in Juneau, the Watertown Department of Public Health, 515 S. First St. Watertown, and the Jefferson County Health Department, 1541 Annex Rd Jefferson. Test kits are only available while supplies last.

You can find more information about radon on the DHS website at http://www.lowradon.org.