- Radon is a top cause of nonsmoking lung cancer.
- Utahns can get free radon tests online.
- A group of students conducted over 60 radon tests in Box Elder County.
Kerri Robbins was diagnosed with Stage 4 nonsmoking lung cancer in 2023, which stemmed from high levels of radon in her Lehi home.
“The levels in my house were like I was smoking three packs of cigarettes a day,” Robbins said.
Since her diagnosis, she had her home mitigated to lower the radon levels and now keeps a radon detector in her home so she can always be aware of what the levels are.
On Thursday, Robbins was at the Capitol with a group of eighth grade students from Promontory School in Perry, Box Elder County, who were presenting research they had done about radon.
The project was led by math teacher Rob Christensen and science teacher Lisa Wells. The educators began by spending a few weeks having the kids learn about radiation and radon.
The students then gave radon testing kits to any family in Box Elder County who wanted one. They did over 60 tests, and then a group of eight eighth grade students worked with Christensen to analyze the data.
“It’s been an exciting thing because the kids are starting to realize how important this is and that it’s affecting our people,” said Christensen.
What you need to know about radon
TJ Mellars, the general manager of Utah Radon Services, shared that radon is a radioactive gas and the No. 1 cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
“It’s a colorless, odorless, tasteless, invisible gas, that seeps in through the cracks of the ground, builds up in your house and causes lung cancer,” said Junior Spencer, one of the students from Promontory School.
Mellars explained that it cannot be detected by human senses, so the only way to detect or measure radon is to do a radon test.
Radon comes from decaying uranium and radium in the soil, and because homes have lower air pressure than the soil below them, they act like vacuums sucking the gases out of the soil and into the home.
Lung cancer is the main concern from radon exposure, but Mellars said that there have been connections made to other types of cancer as well. The gas is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, “which means they know it causes lung cancer or cancer in humans.”
“Our goal is just to help everybody be exposed to it as little as possible because that will help to make each individual and make the state of Utah just a safer place,” Mellars said.
The students from Promontory shared what they learned about radon and the damage it causes.
“We learned that radon is a very harmful gas that like gets into your lungs, and then it causes lung cancer,” said eighth grader Rudra Ahir.
“It’s really bad, it’s like super bad,” Spencer said, adding that he learned that breathing high levels of radon is like smoking multiple cigarettes a day.
How Utahns can test for radon
Utahns can order free radon tests online at utahradon.org. If high levels of radon are detected, then people can get their homes mitigated.
Mellars said that it is common to find high levels of radon in Utah homes. There are homes in all of the state’s cities and counties that have high levels of radon.
“The invitation is regardless of what city you live in, regardless of the location, regardless of the type of home or type of foundation you have, you should test your home for radon gas to determine what you’re being exposed to,” he said.
He added that the tests are very simple to conduct, as demonstrated by the Promontory students, who conducted the tests themselves.
Rep. David Shallenberger, R-Orem, is running a bill, HB563, this session that would require proper training and certification for anyone who is installing or maintaining radon mitigation systems.
Robbins said she recommends people buy radon detectors that they can have in their homes along with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
“Everybody needs a safe home whether you rent or you own,” she said.
Robbins also talked about how great it was to see the students learning about radon and so passionately talking about it, because she believes there needs to be more awareness around radon.
“Let’s use the kids to get that word out. I think this is amazing,” she said.
While at the Capitol, the students went around telling anyone they could find about radon while also handing out flyers about radon awareness.
“We just need to raise awareness about this, otherwise lots of people are going to end up with lung cancer,” said Shelby Prince, one of the students.