March 15, 2009


Dear Members of the Illinois Legislature,

CanSAR, Cancer Survivors Against Radon, is a group of individuals affected by lung cancer who discovered the fact that high levels of radon gas were present in their homes. We strongly support Illinois HB 4223, which recommends that every occupied school building of a school district be tested for radon.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than seventy thousand (70,000) schoolrooms in use today have high short-term radon levels and recommends that all schools nationwide be tested for radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer and is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers. Long-time exposure to radon can be deadly. The EPA indicates that 22,000 people each year die from radon-induced lung cancer.

The only way to determine if a radon problem exists is to test for it. Radon is a real threat, but the good news is that it can be fixed. All schools must be tested to determine if there is a problem; indoor radon is ranked among the most serious environmental health problems facing us today.

Radon is a naturally occurring gas, which seeps into buildings from the surrounding soil. It cannot be seen; it has no odor; it is tasteless; the only way to know if high levels of radon exist is by testing for it. Radon gas decays into radioactive particles that get trapped in the lungs as a person breathes. As these particles break down, they release small bursts of energy that can damage lung tissue and lead to lung cancer over a long period of time.

Our Illinois students need a healthy environment in which to learn. Other states that already have a mandatory law in place to test schools and/or daycare facilities for radon include Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Rhode Island.

Radon is one health problem nobody should have to live with—at home or at school.

Gloria Linnertz

618 Evansville Ave.
Waterloo, IL 62298
618 830 4660
seascape@htc.net
VP, Cancer Survivors Against Radon