Radon

Radon Testing Kits

Jasper County Environmental Health offers Radon testing kits for $10.

Stop by Jasper County Community Development and ask for the Environmental Health Department,  or call us at 641-792-3084 to pick up your testing kit.

Watch a video on how to do a short term radon test kit.

Radon Information

You can't see it, smell it or taste it in your home, but there may be dangerous levels of radon lurking in your house. About twenty-one thousand Americans die each year from lung cancer caused from radon. The month of January is National Radon Action month, and the EPA, U.S. Surgeon General, Iowa Cancer Consortium and Jasper County Public Health Department are encouraging everyone to test their homes, businesses, and schools.

Radon is a radioactive gas released from the normal decay of the elements uranium, thorium, and radium in rocks and soil. It is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that seeps up through the ground and diffuses into the air.

Radon can enter homes through cracks in floors, walls, or foundations, and collect indoors. It can also be released from building materials, or from water obtained from wells that contain radon. Radon levels can be higher in homes that are well insulated, tightly sealed, and/or built on soil rich in the elements uranium, thorium, and radium. Basement and first floors typically have the highest radon levels because of their closeness to the ground.

Radon Testing

Testing is the only way to know if a person’s home has elevated radon levels. Indoor radon levels are affected by the soil composition under and around the house, and the ease with which radon enters the house. Homes that are next door to each other can have different indoor radon levels, making a neighbor’s test result a poor predictor of radon risk. In addition, rain or snow, barometric pressure, and other influences can cause radon levels to vary from month to month or day to day, which is why both short- and long-term tests are available.

For more information check out the Cancer Iowa website.

Radon Deaths

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer. 7 out of 10 Iowa homes have elevated indoor radon levels. 400 Iowans die from radon-induced lung cancer each year compared to 390 women who die from female breast cancer and 319 people die in car accidents.

Read a copy of the Radon Program Statute.