LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The American Health Association is celebrating public health week. This year’s theme is “Protecting, connecting, and thriving: We are all public health.”

With that, they are urging people to protect themselves against one of the leading causes of environmental cancer mortality — radon.

The American Health Association says radon is a threat to anyone with lungs, but the good news exposure is preventable.

Radon is a gas that occurs naturally from the breakdown — or the radioactive decay — of uranium. Rocks, soil, and sometimes groundwater can all contain uranium. Radon can enter buildings like homes through gaps and cracks. And radon exposure claims  21,000 American lives a year; that’s two lives lost every hour.

Kyle Hoylman is the CEO of Protect Environmental, and he says radon levels are high in Kentucky.

“When we look at radon across the commonwealth, about 45% of our buildings contain radon levels above the national level. When you get into areas such as Bowling Green, down around Mammoth Cave, Lexington, Louisville, major population centers, we see much higher concentrations. It’s not uncommon here in Jefferson County to see buildings as high as 65% of them would contain elevated radon levels,” said Hoylman. 

According to the American Lung Association, Kentucky has the highest lung cancer incidence and mortality rate in the nation. The average level of radon exposure in Kentucky is equivalent to receiving 200 chest x-rays a year or smoking eight cigarettes a day.

To learn more about getting your home tested, visit the Protect Environmental website. To increase testing, Protect Environmental partnered with the American Lung Association to provide free radon test kits. To get your kit to ensure you and your family’s safety, visit their website.