By Joy Miller

The second leading cause of lung cancer might be lurking in your home.

Lung cancer is usually associated with smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products, but the second leading cause of the disease is something that you will never see.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer for non-smokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer overall.

Radon is an invisible, tasteless, colorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas from the soil. It is an inner gas which doesn’t form chemical compounds, it is not an allergen or an asthmatic. The health concern arises from chronic long-term exposure to elevated indoor radon levels, which increases lung cancer risk.

All homes have some radon, but you cannot predict radon levels based on:

• Heating system
• Foundation type
• Age of structure
• Airtightness
• Style of house
• Presence of sumps, cracks, or other features
• If you neighbor does or does not elevated radon levels

Each home is unique and the only way to know if your home has high radon levels is by testing.

Using a short-term test in the winter reflects the home radon concentrations 94% of the time.

The kit is opened and left in the lowest livable part of the home for at least two days. Once the test is completed, the kit is packaged in the self-addressed stamped envelope and mailed to the lab for testing, results are usually ready in 7-10 days.

If you conduct a radon test and if the house tests at or above the EPA’s national recommended action level of four Pico carries of radon per liter of indoor air, then the recommendation after confirmation is to consider activities that reduce those levels below four to minimize the lung cancer risks over time.

At the Johnson County K-State Extension Office, 11811 South Sunset Drive, Olathe, you can purchase a $15 short-term radon test kit. In each kit, you’ll receive a charcoal test, a pre-paid envelope and a lab analysis.

For more information, please contact me at 913-715- 7000 or joy.miller@jocogov.org.

Joy Miller is the family and community wellness agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office.