Your Home Could Be Slowly Killing You. Details on AM Minnesota 1-20-2015

Radon is the leading environmental cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers. Two of every five Minnesota homes have dangerous levels of radon gas. State health officials says every home should be tested. Radon is an odorless, colorless and tasteless radioactive gas that occurs naturally in Minnesota soils. It can enter your home through cracks or openings in walls or foundations. The only way to know if your home has the problem is to test for it. Rice County Public Health Clinic and Community Supervisor Sara Coulter stops by our KDHL studios to educate us about this deadly gas.

The Minnesota Radon Awareness Act went into effect Jan. 1, 2014, and requires you to provide full disclosure about radon when selling your home. The law requires sellers to inform buyers whether their home has been tested for radon and if so, what the levels are and whether the home has been mitigated for radon. There's more to this law, and we'll discuss the details on the show at 9:30 this morning. By the way, Rice County Public Health does have free test kits available.