Courtesy Village of Riverside
The Cook County Radon Awareness Program is encouraging residents of Cook County to test their home for radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can seep into a house through cracks in the basement floor and walls, around the openings of the sump pump or through crawl spaces. It’s easy to test for radon and it’s simple to fix your home, if necessary. With people spending more time indoors due to the cold weather, now is the ideal time to test.
As a part of our Radon Awareness Program, Cook County and the State of Illinois distribute radon information and detector kits. The kit can be ordered for the low cost of $7 through the Cook County Department of Environmental Control. It can be obtained by mailing a check or money order, along with their return address, to:
Cook County Dept. of Environmental Control
69 West Washington Street, Suite 1900
Chicago, IL 60602.
The only way to know if you have radon in your home is by testing. Should a home have high radon, the names of licensed mitigators who specialize in radon reduction can be provided.
For questions, residents may call the Radon Awareness Hotline at 708-865-6177 and leave their name, address, and phone number. Additional information is also on our website at http://blog.cookcountyil.gov/sustainability/2013/01/15/elevated-radon-levels-found-in-roughly-1-in-15-homes-nationwide/
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) states that radon is associated with 15,000 to 22,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year. Almost 50% of the homes in Illinois and nearly 30% of the homes in Cook County that were tested by professionals had radon levels higher than what is recommended by the USEPA, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
Please click here for additional information on Radon testing.
