National Radon Action Month

EPA's page for the month leads with the health message. In its words, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer deaths among nonsmokers in America and claims the lives of about 21,000 Americans each year. EPA's Health Risk of Radon page gives the breakdown behind that figure: radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year, and about 2,900 of these deaths occur among people who have never smoked. Overall, it says, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

Why January

EPA's month pages do not say why January was chosen or when the observance began, so this guide does not guess at either. What EPA's Health Risk of Radon page does record is a January date in the program's history: on January 13, 2005, Richard H. Carmona, the U.S. Surgeon General, issued a national health advisory on radon, urging Americans to test their homes to find out how much radon they might be breathing.

The advisory's words, as EPA's Citizen's Guide prints them: indoor radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and breathing it over prolonged periods can present a significant health risk to families all over the country; it's important to know that this threat is completely preventable; and radon can be detected with a simple test and fixed through well-established venting techniques.

EPA's page lists five things you can do during National Radon Action Month. Each one is below, in EPA's order, with what EPA says about it.

1. 1

   Test your home

   EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General recommend that all homes in the U.S. be tested for radon, and EPA says testing is easy and inexpensive. See how to test for radon.

2. 2

   Attend a National Radon Action Month event in your area

   EPA says to look for radon events in your community. Your state radon program is the place to ask what is planned.

3. 3

   Spread the word

   EPA suggests telling family and friends about the health risk of radon and encouraging them to test their homes, planning an activity in your community, writing an op-ed or letter to the editor, and working with a local official to get a radon proclamation.

4. 4

   Buy a radon-resistant home

   EPA points buyers to Building Radon Out: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Build Radon-Resistant Homes. See radon-resistant new construction.

5. 5

   Build green

   For builders, EPA's page quotes Fuad Reveiz of the National Association of Home Builders: the techniques to prevent radon from entering a home are practical and straightforward for any builder, and it's an inexpensive way to offer families a benefit that could reduce their risk of lung cancer.

For graphics and videos to use all year, EPA's page points to CDC's Radon Toolkit, and it names the Radon Leaders Saving Lives Campaign, hosted by the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) with contributions from industry and EPA.

January is not EPA's only radon date. EPA's page on National Radon Action Month says Radon Action Week is the third week in October, and that some communities might observe Radon Action Week with other indoor air quality topics during the remaining weeks in October.

National radon awareness month, by EPA's name

People search for a radon awareness month, but EPA's own name for January is National Radon Action Month; the month pages cited here use no other name for it. EPA's media page does tie radon to an awareness month in November: its Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November) materials carry messages such as radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, and nearly 1 in 15 homes in the U.S. has high radon levels.

Radon messages for the rest of the year

EPA's month page suggests incorporating messages to test for radon, fix radon problems and build radon-resistant homes into other events through the year. The table gives its examples.

CDC marks the month with a week of its own. Its Radon Awareness Week page says January is National Radon Action Month, and that over the last few years, CDC has chosen the last week of January to observe Radon Awareness Week, an event that sheds light on the dangers of radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States after cigarette smoking. For January 2027 the page gives the theme “What's Your Radon Story?”, with a question for each weekday.

CDC's Radon Toolkit

EPA's month page sends partners to CDC's Radon Toolkit for graphics and videos to use all year. The toolkit page says partners can use its communication resources to expand their outreach efforts and raise awareness about radon, and lists print materials, webinars, testimonials, graphics, social media messages, videos, podcasts, shareable images and feature stories. Its print materials include a test your home for radon factsheet, a how radon gets into your home infographic and a radon activity book. Among its testimonials, CDC says Jackie Nixon was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015, and that the cancer was likely due to radon exposure.

Much of the month happens through state programs. EPA's test kit page says free test kits are sometimes available from local or county health departments, or from state radon programs. Two recent state notices show what a January offer can look like.

Each notice also gave its own state's figures. Pennsylvania's DEP said about 40 percent of Pennsylvania homes have radon levels above the EPA action level of 4.0 pCi/L, and North Carolina said radon causes about 480 deaths each year in North Carolina. These are each state's own statements about different measures, so they are not a ranking. Offers change from year to year: ask your state radon program what it runs this January, or see free radon test kits.

Some state programs say winter is the time. Pennsylvania's DEP says the best time to test is during the colder months, when homes and buildings are closed and radon is most likely to be trapped and build up to higher levels. Minnesota's Department of Health says Minnesota homes are closed up or heated most of the year, which can result in higher levels of radon. EPA's Citizen's Guide does not name a best month. It says radon levels tend to vary from day to day and season to season, so a short-term test is less likely than a long-term test to tell you your year-round average radon level.

Whatever the month, EPA's Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide says all radon tests should be taken for a minimum of 48 hours. A January test that comes back high is a reason to follow up, not to wait for summer. Read a result with the radon level interpreter.

EPA's Radon Media Resources page holds the materials partners can use in January. Its National Radon Action Month (January) set includes an infographic headed January is National Radon Action Month, Have You Tested Your Home?, and the Test Your Nest campaign, whose bookmark reads: test your nest for radon, fix your nest, if needed, save a life. The page also carries a Radon Publications One-Pager with QR codes to EPA's radon publications, and the hashtag #TestFixSaveALife.

National Radon Action Month 2019 and earlier years

EPA keeps older materials on its Past Campaign Materials page rather than by year. Living Healthy & Green features former NFL kicker Fuad Reveiz, now a home builder who uses radon-resistant construction and encourages others to do the same. Eddie's Story, the winner of EPA's 2008 "Test, Fix, Save a Life" video contest, has lung cancer survivor Eddie Metcalfe share his personal story as a call to action for every American home to be tested for radon.

EPA's month page says the National Radon Poster Contest, administered by Kansas State University, has been discontinued, and that posters from the 2007 to 2015 state and national winners can be viewed on the Kansas State University National Radon Program Services website. It suggests checking with your state radon contact to see whether your state runs its own contest.

Testing is the first thing EPA asks for during the month, and the Citizen's Guide says testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk from radon. Short-term tests remain in your home for two days to 90 days, depending on the device, and long-term tests remain for more than 90 days. EPA's Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide says all radon tests should be taken for a minimum of 48 hours.

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Test	How long it runs	What it is for
Short-term test	Stays in the home from 2 to 90 days, depending on the device, and for a minimum of 48 hours.	A faster screening result. Because radon levels vary from day to day and season to season, it is less likely than a long-term test to tell you the year-round average.
Long-term test	Stays in the home for more than 90 days.	It is more likely than a short-term test to tell you the home's year-round average radon level.
Continuous monitor	Logs readings for the whole test, run as a short-term or a long-term test under the same durations in EPA guidance.	Logs a graph over time, so you can see trends and spot anomalies rather than a single number.

Where and how to test, in the Citizen's Guide's words: place the kit in the lowest lived-in level of the home, in a room that is used regularly but not your kitchen or bathroom, at least 20 inches above the floor, away from drafts, high heat, high humidity and exterior walls. For a short-term test lasting just 2 or 3 days, close your windows and outside doors at least 12 hours before beginning the test. If the first result is 4 pCi/L or more, take a follow-up test to be sure.

EPA's test kit page says free test kits are sometimes available from local or county health departments, or from state radon programs, and that the National Radon Program Services at Kansas State University has test kits available to purchase online or by calling 1-800-SOS-RADON (1-800-767-7236). Compare kit types on the radon test kits page and see free radon test kits.

EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. The Citizen's Guide says radon reduction systems work, that some can reduce radon levels in your home by up to 99%, and that the method primarily used is a vent pipe system and fan, which pulls radon from beneath the house and vents it to the outside. It says to use a contractor who is trained to fix radon problems, and to test your home again after it is fixed. See radon mitigation.

EPA's page says a new home buyer may ask the builder about these features, and if not provided, may ask the builder to include them in the new home.

The month is one piece of a wider plan. EPA's National Radon Action Plan page describes a collaborative effort between eleven organizations dedicated to eliminating avoidable radon-induced lung cancer in the United States, led by the American Lung Association. In 2015 its partners set a goal to mitigate 5 million high-radon homes and save 3,200 lives annually by 2020, by building radon testing and mitigation into the systems that govern purchasing, financing, constructing and renovating buildings.

Before it came the Federal Radon Action Plan, which EPA's National Radon Action Plan page calls a 2010 to 2016 effort to extend the reach, scope and impact of federal actions on radon. EPA's Federal Radon Action Plan page says that as of 2014 those efforts reached at least 1.6 million homes, schools and childcare facilities with federal guidance and incentives, and that the latest data then, for 2013 and 2014, showed the highest rates of radon mitigation and new construction ever recorded in the U.S.