(KTNC) - January is Radon Action Month. People in southeast Nebraska can get free kits to test their homes for Radon.  The test kits are available at University of Nebraska Extension offices.
 Data from the Nebraska Health and Human Services Radon Program indicates that between 60-and-83-percent of homes in the southeast Nebraska that have been tested for Radon have produced results above the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended action level.
 Radon is a naturally occurring, colorless, odorless, radioactive gas.  Its presence in homes can pose a health risk, as Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, claiming approximately 20-thousand lives annually.
 It’s recommended that homes with a radon level at or above four pico-curies per liter should be mitigated to reduce radon levels. 
 The average rates in far southeast Nebraska are 6.9 in Pawnee County; 9.9 in Richardson County; 10.8 in Johnson County; and 11.6 in Nemaha County.
 The Richardson County Extension Office still has a few Radon test kits available, free of charge.  Contact the Extension Office at 402-245-4324 for more information about the radon test kits.