January 14, 2026
El Paso County, CO – January is National Radon Action Month. El Paso County Public Health encourages homeowners to test their homes for radon. Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that can accumulate indoors and pose significant health risks.
Radon is generated by the radioactive decay of radium, which is present in uranium-bearing soils found throughout the Rocky Mountains and the eastern plains. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths after cigarette smoking. When you breathe in radon, the radioactive decay products can get trapped in your lungs and increase the risk of lung cancer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) reports that it causes 500 lung cancer deaths a year in Colorado alone.
“We recommend that you test your home this winter, even if you have tested it in the past as radon levels can change over time” Meredith Lockwood, Environmental Health Division Manager for El Paso County Public Health, said. “Testing your home is the first step to safeguarding your health and reducing exposure to dangerous levels of radon.”
Test kits are generally inexpensive to purchase, and homes and buildings that have high levels of radon can be mitigated with simple and affordable venting techniques. The best time to test your home for radon is when all your windows and doors are shut, which is why winter is the ideal time to test for radon. CDPHE offers discounted and low-cost radon test kits. To find a test kit, visit https://cdphe.colorado.gov/hm/testing-your-home-radon. For more information, the EPA recommends the following resources: National Radon Proficiency Program at www.nrpp.info and National Radon Safety Board at www.nrsb.org.
Radon kits are widely available online or at hardware stores and generally range from $10 to $50. Those shopping for a radon test kit should look for kits marked “certified by the National Radon Proficiency Program.” Additionally, radon test kits are available for purchase at the El Paso County Public Health Laboratory, located at 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road. The recommended action limit for radon is four picocuries per liter (pCi/L). If your house tests higher than four pCi/L, you can find information about mitigation and how to choose a certified mitigation contractor at elpasocountyhealth.org/services/radon and https://cdphe.colorado.gov/hm/testing-your-home-radon. Homeowners who already have radon mitigation systems should retest their homes every few years to make sure the system is working properly.
For more information about radon testing, call (719) 578-3199 and select option 3, or visit elpasocountyhealth.org.
Contact: Erin Thompson, Communications and Public Relations Specialist, 719-663-4033
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Access this resource at the link below:
https://www.elpasocountyhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2026/01/News-Release-National-Radon-Month-Accessibility-Checked-1.13.pdf