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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Take Action on Radon in January

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Friday, January 16, 2015   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Radon can be the biggest health risk in a private home, and this month state leaders are encouraging Ohioans to test their homes for the dangerous gas.

Radon-related lung cancer claims the life of an estimated 20,000 people nationally every year, said Donna Jordan, senior health physicist at the Ohio Department of Health, adding that it's of particular concern in Ohio.

"Exposure to elevated levels of radon over the course of your lifetime increases your risk of developing lung cancer," she said. "Every year, approximately 50 percent of all homes tested in Ohio will have elevated levels of radon."

Radon can't be seen, tasted or smelled. With most homes tightly closed up because of the cold weather, Jordan said now is the best time of year to check radon levels inside of a home. Test kits range in price from $10 to $30, and can be purchased at a local hardware store or online. January is Radon Action Month.

Jordan said radon is a byproduct of uranium, found in the oil and rocks under and around the foundations of buildings.

"As uranium decays, it eventually becomes radon gas," she said. "Radon gas enters our home through cracks and openings in the foundation floor and walls, as well as it can migrate through concrete."

Where radon is detected, a mitigation system will cost from $800 to $1,200, but Jordan said they are extremely effective at reducing radon exposure to safe levels.

"Based on the data that we collect," she said, "the most common type of system that is installed, which is sub-slab depressurization, has over a 95 percent effective rate of reducing radon levels to below the action level."

Information on test kits and licensed mitigation experts is available through the Ohio Department of Health at radon.com.


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