[Music] in 1988 radon was classified as a human carcinogen since then much research and effort has gone into finding homes that may be affected in fact two and five Minnesota homes have high radon levels but what is radon and what can you do to protect your home and family from it Edina TV's Tom Cornell has the story this 1986 EPA Journal detailed the story of why a nuclear engineer was setting off alarms at a new nuclear plant with no fuel installed yet the reason extremely high levels of radon in his home radon is a gas that occurs naturally um it's in underground uh we see it everywhere um it's a problem because if it gets into our homes and the level concentrates it can cause cancer approximately 21,000 people die in the US every year from radon caused lung cancer because of this the US EPA has declared January as radon action month and uh uranium is where radon comes from it's decaying uranium way under the ground and once it does it comes up through the cracks and things in the ground comes into our homes through the same kind of cracks in the floor or open some baskets mortar joints essentially any opening between the soil and the home from there it can build up especially in homes H that are sealed up during the winter which is why testing is so important hi can I get a radon kit we work with the Minnesota Department of Health and we make the Ron test kits available they're just $5 you can come in it's a short-term test pick one up thank you have a good day you too detectors come with easy to follow instructions you want to hang it up as quickly as as you open it and don't wait a day or two all the information is in the kit here about why to test where to test all the best uh spots in your home to do that then you want to follow the instructions as carefully as you can to make sure that we're we've get an uh reading as accurate as we can uh you'll open up the end keep the cardboard in there during the collection period and once you have that open like that it's going to collect the radon you want it hanging in uh the lowest area of your home that's occupied hang it at I level that's going to get us our best information the detector will be in place from 3 to 7 days days after that you simply seal it up fill out the form on the back and drop it in the mail the Minnesota Department of Health has this guide on their website with details including what to do if the testing reveals High rate on levels in your home how to find licensed contractors accessing financial support and more it's very simple to do and within a few days or few weeks even with the lab work you'll know if if you have an elevated level in your house free din TV I'm Tom Cornell picking up a radon detector kit is as easy as stopping by Fire Station 1 on Tracy Avenue please bring $5 in cash