St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota has some of the strictest rules in the nation for mitigating radon gas in homes. But the state Department of Health is concerned the rules don't go far enough, and it's now asking builders to voluntarily install attic fans that can draw out the toxic gas.

The naturally occurring gas is odorless, invisible, and found in soils throughout Minnesota, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 800 Minnesotans die each year from radon-induced lung cancer.

Even so, only a few builders have signed on to the MDH program, which is aimed at augmenting the passive radon vents required by Minnesota law.

Dean Hanson of Hanson Builders, who has been in business for 32 years, said the agency offered to give him a discount on radon-venting fans if he agreed to install them in all of the new homes he builds.

(ABC 6 NEWS) - Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that's seeping into homes across our area, and many homeowners have no idea that southern Minnesota and northern Iowa are at a higher risk for the deadly gas.

You can't smell it. You can't taste it. In fact, it's undetectable by all your senses, but if it's in your home, it can be deadly.

"Radon is a class a carcinogen, which means it has a high potential for causing lung cancer. In this case, lung cancer is the specific risk," said Dan DeLano, an Environmental Health Specialist with Olmsted County Public Health.

Radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and causes up to 30,000 deaths every year.

"The only way to find out if you have radon is to do the radon test," said Bryan Hanson, a Project Manager at K&S Heating and Air.

The City of Minneapolis will give away more than 250 radon test kits tomorrow to raise awareness about a problem affecting one in three Minnesota homes.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services will donate the kits and will also be providing safety tips for the public.

Radon gas, which is odorless, colorless and tasteless, is called a "silent killer." Prolonged exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer for nonsmokers.

Last May, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced the Indoor Radon Exposure Abatement and Detection Act. Fashioned after a Minnesota law, the bill would set national standards for radon testing and create a rebate program for installation of mitigation systems in new homes.

Since then, the bill hasn’t made much progress, but state Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, who worked on the Minnesota Radon Bill, said she remains confident in rising public awareness.

When Cecil Keen moved into his Mankato home, he did a radon test in the basement.

“It was off the charts,” said Keen, a professor in the geography department at Minnesota State University.

Keen hired a contractor for $1,500 to mitigate the problem by installing a pipe and fan system to vent the deadly gas from under the basement slab out through the roof.

That experience and ongoing MSU research showing a majority of Mankato homes with high radon levels led Keen and others to successfully push for a state law that requires all new homes to be built with radon mitigation.

The new regulations go into effect June 1.

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Fears about granite surfaces are largely unfounded, experts say, but a test can quell homeowners' worries.

Homeowners seeking just the right granite for their countertops have something new to ponder, besides which color complements their cabinets. Some are wondering about the radiation and radon gas that might be emanating from those showy slabs.

The topic sent online forums buzzing last summer after a few high-profile media reports, including a New York Times story featuring a doctor who removed her granite after it tested high for radiation, then replaced it with a different granite.

Now scientists, including a Minnesota physicist, are testing slabs, producing papers and debating each other's findings. The Marble Institute of America recently announced it will launch a "Home Approved Stone" program to reassure consumers about granite's safety. And radon professionals say some homeowners now want their countertops tested along with the rest of the house.

Fergus Falls, MN — If there was something you could do to prevent the second leading cause of lung cancer, would you do it? Performing a radon test is easy, inexpensive, and can be done privately. This simple test can tell you if you have elevated radon levels in your home.

Radon is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. When you breathe air containing radon, you can get lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today.

He urges Americans to test their homes to find out how much radon they might be breathing.

Why is radon a common problem in Minnesota homes? Much of the soil in the Upper Midwest contains widespread uranium and radium. These minerals continuously break down to release radon gas. Therefore, Minnesota's geology provides an ongoing supply of radon.

“It all started back in July. I had a cough and could not get rid of it,” recalls Mark Johnson, a farmer near Spring Grove, discussing the events leading to his diagnosis with lung cancer in December. “The over-the-counter stuff didn’t work. After awhile my family said I should go and get it checked out.”

The cough continued throughout the fall and on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving and after most of his field work was done, Johnson went to the doctor.

“They wanted to do a chest x-ray to look for pneumonia,” he explained. When doctors saw questionable images on the x-ray they did a CT scan for further observation. On Dec. 18 the phone call came with the results; the growth in his lungs causing his chronic coughing was lung cancer. Already diagnosed as stage three cancer, chemotherapy would be the only option.

Extreme cold can have unusual effects in some unusual places. It can cause more radon gas to enter homes, and it can kill off tree pests. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke first with Bill Angell, professor, and housing specialist at the University of Minnesota, about radon. Then, she spoke with Lee Frelich, who studies forests and is Director of the Center for Hardwood Ecology at the University of Minnesota, about tree pests.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/01/15/cold/