January is Radon Action Awareness Month and this month is the best time to test your home for the naturally occuring gas that can cause lung cancer.

Greene County Environmental Health Administrator Chuck Wenthold says because radon is odorless and colorless, you won’t notice if you have it unless you test for it. He points out the ways that radon can get into a home is basically through the basement or foundation of the home. Wenthold adds that there are free test kits available across the county including: his office in the Greene County Courthouse; the Greene County Extension office; Greene County Public Health office at Greene County Medical Center; and the county libraries in Grand Junction, Paton, Churdan, Rippey and Scranton.

If the test results come back positive for radon, Wenthold says there are a variety of ways to mitigate the issue.

“One of the things is sealing up any of the cracks in the floors and in the walls (of the basement). If you have a crawl space with a dirt floor, you can cover that with plastic and seal it to any hard surfaces. Any of those pipes that come the floor, make sure they’re sealed and there’s no cracks around them. You can work with mitigation services to put a fan to draw the air outward.”

Wenthold recommends a second test only if the first test results come back high, between a 5 and a 10, to verify the results of the first test. To hear more from Wenthold listen to today’s Community State Bank in Paton Let’s Talk Greene County program.