Deadly Gas — Is It In Your Home?

JOLIET, IL — Is there a deadly gas floating around your home? You can find out with a simple test offered for the low price of $8 by the Will County Health Department.

January is National Radon Action Month and the health department has test kits available for purchase.

According to the health department, radon is a "dangerous by-product of something constantly happening under the ground we walk on.

"As thorium and uranium combine to form lead, highly-radioactive radium is one of the by-products," the health department said. "And from the radium, we have a by-product called radon. It is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that is the leading cause of cancer among non-smokers; and it can find its way out of the ground and into your home."

Radon causes 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year, according to the health department, which is more than seven times more than deaths from house fires, as well as 17 percent more than the amount of annual deaths from drunk driving.

image via Patch archive