GREENSBORO, N.C. — Free! It is one of the best words to hear, especially when it comes to a product that could save your life-- from an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas inside your home. Radon is emitted from the soil that can seep into homes and buildings through cracks.
Lifetime exposure leads to lung cancer. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. second only to smoking tobacco.
The North Carolina Radon Program also offers free testing kits.
There's even financial assistance to help you remove radon gas from your home...if the test finds it. The free testing kits are easy to use. You basically hang a small card on a wall in your house for 3 to 7 days and mail it in.
The EPA posted this map showing the radon zones in our state. Our viewing area has a mix of all three. The red being the areas most in danger. Rockingham County is in the red. Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin are in the orange. Guilford, Alamance, Randolph, Davidson, and Davie counties are all in the yellow zone - which is the lowest.
But just because you're not in a red or orange county doesn't mean high levels of radon can't be found in your home. The EPA says it found homes with high levels of radon in all three zones - so it's important to test yours.
The free testing kits are easy to use you basically hang a small card on a wall in your house for 3 to 7 days and mail it in.
