Radon Program to be featured on KNPB

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s (UNCE) Nevada Radon Education Program (NREP) will be featured on KNPB’s “A Conversation” with Brent Boynton on Friday, Dec. 14, at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 16, at 11 a.m. The segment will include interviews with Jamie Roice, UNCE radon education coordinator; Eric Matus radiation physicist, Nevada State Health Division; and Norm Denny certified radon mitigator, Pinnacle Construction.

The guests will be discussing what radon is, the health risks, how to test for it, how radon gets into homes and how to get rid of it. Viewers will also be able to see how local homeowners Carol Ort and Jim McCauley have benefitted from installing mitigation systems in their homes.

“It is a great testimonial towards UNCE and how UNCE helped these homeowners find out about radon,” said Susan Howe, UNCE’s radon program director.

NREP, supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Nevada State Health Division, was instituted in 2007 to educate the citizens of Nevada about the radon health risk. Radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive gas emanating naturally from the soil. It enters homes through foundation cracks, plumbing and utility openings, and becomes a health risk when trapped inside. The EPA estimates 21,000 people in the United States die each year from lung cancer caused by the exposure to radon.

UNCE is currently offering free radon test kits through the end of February. To obtain a kit, visit any UNCE office or call 1-888-RADON10 (888-723-6610).

UNCE’s Radon Education Program offers educational programs and literature to Nevadans to educate citizens about the radon health risk. For more information, visit the UNCE web site, www.RadonNV.com.