(Spirit Lake)– It’s a colorless, odorless, radioactive cancer-causing gas known to be present in many homes locally. It’s called radon…a gas produced by the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. It’s the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Iowa has more homes above the recommended action level for radon than any other state.
There are ways to remediate your home of radon, but obviously you first must know whether or not it’s actually present.
Dickinson county residents have a special opportunity to do that free of charge. David Kohlhaase, the county’s Environmental Health Administrator, says his office is providing radon test kits free of charge to county residents through a grant the office received.
The kits can be picked up at the office, located just west of the courthouse in Spirit Lake in the Dickinson County Engineer/Planning and Zoning Building.
The kits are available on a first-come, first-serve basis during regular office hours.
