The grant further asks that students make a commitment to try and obtain employment in a health profession shortage area upon graduation. Project coordinator L. Tammy Duckworth said the grant will double the number of homes to be tested to 1,600. We provide two testing kits per house, one of which is for the basement. Often, radon out of ground is spread by the furnace as it heats the upstairs. The 1,600 rural and urban homes are being selected randomly from a geographic area believed to have high radon levels.
Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas produced as a result of radium decay.
In its decayed state, radon can be inhaled into the lungs and possibly cause lung damage and cancer. DeKalb County homes make good radon case studies because they are in a region rated by the EPA as exceeding maximum safe radon emission levels, Duckworth said. This is one of the largest dollar amounts ever awarded. More homeowners are needed to volunteer for testing.