Summit County Health Department Director Phil Bondurant says the county sold out of its radon test kits last month and was happy to have to order more.
“I think a lot of that had to do with our opportunity to share that information on the radio show here,” Bondurant said. “But also, some of the work that staff had done. We talked about the radon heat map that is now live on the website. We've received some positive feedback about that. We'll continue to build on that map in the coming years, as we look to obtain a little bit more data that can help build a more robust map. So, I think it was overall it was a success.”
Testing for radon, a naturally occurring gas due to decaying uranium in the soil, is best done in homes when the doors and windows are closed. He encourages those who may have tested in the past and had safe scores, to retest every few years, because the earth is constantly shifting.
“Anywhere you look, there's always changes in neighborhoods and streets,” he said. “And whether they disturbed construction on a home, or any type of situation where the ground is being disturbed, we should be testing for radon. Relatively speaking, they're cheap. They're $10 at the health department and it is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to cigarettes or next to tobacco, of lung cancer.”
While Summit County has tested for radon in all county schools, he says they have not tested county facilities. Park City Municipal has started doing that in all city facilities as well as all city-owned housing units.
“We’re proud to report that none of our schools have issues or concerns with radon that we're aware of. But the idea that we should be testing county facilities is something that we should be considering. And we'll have those conversations with facility staff here in the coming weeks.”
The price of a test kit includes postage to be mailed to the lab. Bondurant doesn’t think it’s necessary to pay additional fees that are offered with the kits for expediated shipping.
