Lung Cancer
Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer. Quitting smoking and protecting yourself and your family from secondhand smoke is the most important way to prevent lung cancer. However, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. To help protect you and your family, Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department provides Radon test kits are available to purchase year-round from Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department - see our radon test kit purchase page. We also provide information on how to fix existing homes to lower Radon levels and Radon resistant methods for new home construction.
Radon is a serious issue as it is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year. Radon is an invisible, odorless gas that occurs naturally in the soil and can enter homes through cracks and holes in the foundation, walls and water pipes. In Nebraska there are dangerously high levels of Radon and nearly one in two homes has reported levels well above the safe zone.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises that homes with Radon levels of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air or more be mitigated (fixed). Recent testing (January - April 2021) has shown that the average radon levels in Burt, Madison, Stanton and Cuming Counties range from 0.3 to 49.8 pCi/L. Knowing the Radon level in your home is important because the problem can be fixed by installing a Radon mitigation system. Also, it is important for people building new homes to be informed about Radon resistant construction techniques. For further information please visit the EPA’s website to view the “Consumer’s Guide to Radon Reduction” at http://www.epa.gov/radon/pdfs/consguid.pdf.
Radon results in Burt, Cuming, Madison and Stanton counties:
Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department has distributed radon kits throughout our four county service area (Burt, Cuming, Madison, and Stanton counties) for many years and has statistically tracked the average radon rates in our counties. During the period 12/1/2020 to 4/30/2021, ELVPHD has distributed 178 kits. Of the kits returned, the average radon level was 12.1 picocuries per liter (pCi/L). Results ranged between 0.3 to 49.8 pCi/L and 52% of all kits returned yielded a result of 4.0 pCi/L or higher.
The Radon program is possible through funding provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Updated 5/4/21