EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, only behind smoking. Now the Minnesota Department of Health has launched a new campaign to educate more people in our community.

The department wants medical professionals to make it a part of normal conversation with their patients.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that seeps off the soil that surrounds homes. It can go through concrete and usually is highly concentrated in the lowest level floor of the house. One in three Minnesota homes have dangerous levels of radon.

Minnesota is the fourth highest state in the country with dangerous levels of radon in homes.

"Unfortunately we have a high radon concentration in many of our homes," said Dale Dorschner, of the Minnesota Dept. of Health. "Most of our homes will test above the EPA action level."

A new law kicked in last summer making sure new homes had radon resistant features like mitigation systems and and vapor barrieres.

Old homes need to use a special device to test for it, then they can mitigate their home to make it safe again. Go to the MN Dept. of Health website to get more information on the seminar for medical professionals and how to get the radon detectors.

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