During National Radon Action Month, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is encouraging residents and business owners to test their homes and buildings for radon.
Exposure to radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer nationally, and easy-to-use tests are widely available.
Radon is an odorless, radioactive gas naturally present in the ground, and it enters buildings through their foundations.
Radon causes more lung cancer among non-smokers than secondhand tobacco smoke.
An estimated 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year among non-smokers are caused by radon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Surgeon General, and approximately 962 of these deaths are in Wisconsin.
