The Mississippi State Department of Health wants to protect you and your home from an odorless, colorless gas that may cause lung cancer.
The MSDH’s Radon Program is partnering with the Mississippi Public Library System to offer free radon home test kits to Mississippi residents.
Health Officials describe radon as an odorless, colorless gas and say that it is the second leading cause of lung cancer nationwide. More than 20,000 Americans die of radon-related lung cancer each year, and radon causes up to 15 percent of lung cancers worldwide.
Radon is a radioactive gas found in nature. Its source is natural uranium in the earth. Being a gas, radon moves upward out of the soil and into the air, where it can enter and accumulate in homes. Uranium is found in most soils and in granite.
Test kits are available while supplies last at the following libraries across the state:
Northern Mississippi:
Lee County Public Library – Tupelo
Starkville/Oktibbeha Public Library – Starkville
Carrollton/North Carrollton Public Library – North Carrollton
Humphreys County Public Library – Belzoni
Elizabeth Jones Public Library – Grenada
Indianola/Sunflower Public Library – Indianola
Greenwood/Leflore Public Library – Greenwood
Central Mississippi:
B.S. Ricks Public Library – Yazoo City
Eudora Welty Public Library – Jackson
Dekalb County Public Library – Dekalb
Attala County Public Library – Kosciusko
Leake County Public Library – Carthage
Meridian-Lauderdale Public Library – Meridian
Southern Mississippi:
Hattiesburg Public Library – Hattiesburg
Poplarville Public Library – Poplarville
For more information on radon exposure, visit the MSDH website at www.HealthyMS.com/radon.
