Across the nation, a campaign is being launched to urge people to live healthy and green by testing and fixing their homes for radon gas and to build new homes radon resistant.

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, responsible for more than 20,000 deaths annually. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas released in rock, soil and water and can accumulate to dangerous levels inside homes, schools and other buildings.

A new Public Service Announcement (PSA) stresses the importance of addressing radon risk as part of living healthy and green.

The campaign features former NFL kicker Fuad Reveiz, now a homebuilder, who uses radon-resistant construction and encourages others to do the same. Reveiz knows a thing or two about kicking and says living healthy and green starts by kicking radon out.

“We want Americans to know that a big part of living green is breathing clean, healthy indoor air,” said Reveiz. “One of the best ways to protect our families’ health is to get radon gas out of our homes. It’s the environmentally responsible choice.”

This campaign reinforces the U.S. Surgeon General’s national health advisory urging citizens to take action on radon. The only way to know if there is a radon problem is to test for it. Radon problems can be fixed and lives saved.

Please call your extension office today or visit www.aces.edu/radon or www.epa.gov/radon for more information on radon and National Radon Action Month.

If you have not tested your home for radon, it is time to go green in Shelby County. The EPA recommends that homes be tested every two years. Shelby County has been determined a Zone I county with high potential of radon but testing is easy.

Radon test kits can be purchased at the Shelby County Extension Office in Columbiana for $5. For more information, call the county extension office at (205) 669-6763.