FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 10, 2007
Upstate residents urged to test homes for radon
COLUMBIA – Some Upstate residents will receive a letter in the mail soon explaining South Carolina’s radon testing program, including where they can receive free radon test kits for their home, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“DHEC encourages all residents of South Carolina to test their homes for radon, but levels in Greenville County are typically higher than in other parts of the state,” said Sandra Flemming, director for DHEC’s Division of Analytical and Radiological Environmental Services. “This is due to factors such as local geology and soils.”
Flemming said radon is produced by the breakdown of naturally occurring uranium in soil, rock, and water. Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that is dispersed in outdoor air, but which can reach harmful levels when trapped in homes.
“Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America after smoking, and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers,” Flemming said. “Because you can’t see or smell radon, people tend to downplay the risks and ignore the possibility that it might be a danger to their family’s health.”
For more information about DHEC’s free radon testing kits, call (864) 241-1090 or 1-800-768-0362, or e-mail radon@dhec.sc.gov.
More information about radon can also be found on DHEC’s Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/radon, or on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/radon.
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For more information:
Aimee Morrow – (864) 241-1090
E-mail – radon@dhec.sc.gov
or
Adam Myrick – (803) 898-3884
E-mail – myrickar@dhec.sc.gov
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