As a healthcare provider, you play a critical role in helping reduce patients’ exposure to avoidable environmental health risks. Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas, is the leading environmental cause of lung cancer in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates radon is responsible for approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year.
Because radon exposure is common, preventable, and often unknown to patients, incorporating radon education into routine care can be a meaningful cancer prevention strategy. Informing patients about radon risks and the simple steps they can take to test and mitigate exposure helps protect your patients' long-term health.
Discussing Radon With Your Patients
Primary care and preventive visits provide valuable opportunities to address radon exposure alongside other lung cancer risk factors, including smoking history and environmental exposures. The guidance below is intended to help you:
Educate patients about radon-related health risks
Encourage home radon testing
Provide clear next steps when elevated levels are identified
Key Clinical Talking Points
- Ask About Radon Testing
- Routinely ask patients whether their home has been tested for radon—similar to screening for tobacco use or secondhand smoke exposure.
- Educate on Health Risks
- Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Long-term exposure, even at low levels, increases cancer risk.
- Recommend Home Testing
- Advise patients to test their homes for radon every two years - and to retest after major renovations or changes to ventilation.
Free radon test kits are available online through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
In-person pick-up at locations across Larimer County during the month of January
- Purchase a radon test kit online through the National Radon Program Services
Home test kits are widely available for purchase at local hardware stores
- Advise patients to test their homes for radon every two years - and to retest after major renovations or changes to ventilation.
Guide Mitigation When Needed
If radon levels are 4.0 pCi/L or higher, recommend installation of a radon mitigation system.
Financial assistance is available for eligible homeowners through the Low Income Radon Mitigation Assistance (LIRMA) Program.
Counsel Patients Who Smoke
Radon and smoking have a synergistic effect, significantly increasing lung cancer risk beyond either exposure alone. Reinforce that smoking cessation substantially reduces the risk of radon-related lung cancer.
Downloads
Patient Handout (English) - A two-page handout that provides an overview of radon and radon mitigation.
Patient Handout (Spanish) - A two-page handout that provides an overview of radon and radon mitigation.
Radon Action Month Poster - An 11 x 17 full-color poster that displays: What is Radon, Why Does It Matter, Test to Know and a QR code to larimer.gov/radon
Resources
Reducing the Risk from Radon: Information and Interventions - A guide for healthcare providers that includes an overview of radon, health risks, and a discussion guide that helps tailor guidance for patients.
EPA: Health Risks of Radon - In depth information and videos about the health risks of radon and its link to lung cancer.
CDPHE: Radon - Comprehensive information about radon, FAQs, health impacts, testing, mitigation and mitigation resources, and data for Colorado.
CDC: Radon Information for Healthcare Providers - Information provided by the CDC to help healthcare providers navigate the dangers of radon with their patients.
