Utah homes have some of the highest levels of radon gas
Sep 26, 2022, 11:30 AM | Updated: Sep 28, 2022, 10:10 am
Some Utah homes have high levels of radon gas underneath them. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
New research finds that Utah homes have the 5th highest levels of radon gas when compared to the rest of the nation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that one in 15 homes in the U.S. have dangerous levels of radon gas. Utah is at much higher risk, as the agency found one in three homes in the Beehive state registered dangerous levels of radon gas.
Further, scientists say radon is the No. 1 environmental cause of all cancer deaths across the U.S.
Utah Radon Services claimed to have performed tens of thousands of tests confirming the data.
Utah is in the red zone (zone 1) for Radon gas. Photo courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
In a press release, Utah Radon Services said even though Utah has the lowest smoking rate in the nation, its data finds that in Utah, lung cancer kills more residents than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined.
The National Cancer Institute says that, on average, 160,000 Americans die annually from lung cancer. It reports that about 22,000 of those die from radon-induced lung cancer.
The first step to prevention is to get a radon test, which can be received for free from most radon companies. Then, mitigation systems can be installed to get rid of dangerous gas levels in your home
To learn if your home has dangerous radon levels, you can order free testing kits from almost any radon company in the state.
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