BY DAVID GUILDFORD | KENTUCKY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – January is National Radon Action Month. The gas is colorless and odorless, putting it out of sight and mind for most people. That’s exactly why it can pose serious health problems, or prove fatal.

People can then breathe in the gas as it breaks down in soil and comes in through cracks in buildings.

Enough exposure can lead to lung cancer, a disease already rampant in Kentucky. So, while supplies last, Louisville’s Health and Wellness Department will give away free radon test kits for homes in Jefferson County.

“The issue with radon is when you’re in your home and you have the closed window circumstances and you don’t have a lot of air filtration, that’s the danger of being exposed to radon. When it’s outside, you know, there’s plenty of air… the exposure level isn’t there. But when you’re in your homes, that’s when the levels can get high,” Rebecca Coates, a Louisville Metro Health Education Specialist, said.

Health & Wellness officials say Kentucky produces 7x the national average amount of radon, due in part to the limestone in our soil that is celebrated for helping make bourbon.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health also offers free radon test kits HERE.