Radon Testing Can Save 21,000 Lives Each Year

Online, August 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - For more than six hours on a recent sunny Friday, the Radon Tee World Trek 2010 traveled Boston's historic Freedom Trail, making native Bostonians and tourists aware that cancer-causing radon might be hiding in their homes. More than 21,000 people die annually in the U.S. alone from radon-induced lung cancer, the number one cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers. Many of the lung cancer deaths caused by radon exposure can be prevented by a simple home radon test.

From Boston Common to Bunker Hill, Massachusetts Radon Tee World Trek volunteers Pat Everett and Elyse Goldstein displayed the black-and-white T-shirt at locations all along the Freedom Trail, stopping to talk with other pedestrians and to photograph the Tee with people and historic monuments as part of the worldwide publicity campaign.

"Many people we spoke with were aware of radon," says Pat Everett, "but only a few had tested their homes, and still fewer lived in homes with radon systems. One man at the Swan Boats in the Public Garden said his home tested high for radon and asked us how to reduce the radon level, so we helped him find a certified radon mitigator. It's obvious that the Radon Tee campaign and other radon awareness efforts are sorely needed to make people aware not only that radon exists but that it is a significant - and preventable - cause of lung cancer."

Sponsored by Cancer Survivors Against Radon (CanSAR), the Radon Tee World Trek 2010 symbolizes the need for all homeowners to test their homes for radon and fix them if radon levels are high.

David Naggar, Director of Marketing for Spruce Envionmental Technologies of Ward Hill, Mass., is the captain of the Massachusetts Radon Tee team. Along with other members of the team, he has taken the Radon Tee on its radon public awareness tour in Massachusetts. The Freedom Trail was one of several stops on the Massachusetts leg of the Tee's World Trek to promote radon testing and mitigation and to encourage support for CanSAR. Photos from the Radon Tee tour are online at www.facebook.com/radontee.

Radon, an odorless, invisible, tasteless, radioactive gas can be present in any home. Massachusetts - and most of New England - is at higher risk for elevated radon levels than the national average. In fact, a Massachusetts DEP study of homes in Essex County reported that more than one-third of homes tested had radon levels higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recommended action level of 4.0 pCi/L. The EPA estimates that more than 700 Massachusetts residents die each year from radon-induced lung cancer.

The Radon Tee message is clear: Reduce Radon. Save Lives.

For more information on CanSAR and how to participate in the Radon Tee's World Trek, go to www.cansar.org.