January is Radon Awareness Month and many county health departments across the state are offering free detection kits for the cancer-causing, radioactive gas. Brian Hanft is environmental health service unit manager for the Cerro Gordo County Health Department in Mason City. He says radon is often strongest during the winter months when homes are closed up and there’s negative pressure inside the home, drawing air in. That draws radon into the home like a vacum.Hanft says there is no way to detect radon, it’s orderless and colorlees and you need a detection kit and he says they’re easy to use. Hanft says radon levels are not determined by your home’s age and he says they can vary greatly from one house to the next. He says it can happen in any age of home from the newest to the oldest. He says your neighbor could have radon, and you could not have any. Iowans should contact their county health department for more details on getting a detection kit.
