Last Frontier News

(Fairbanks, AK) – Young artists can show off their creativity and help bring awareness of the dangers of radon – a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that can cause lung cancer – by entering the Alaska Radon Poster Contest.

The U.S. Surgeon General lists radon exposure as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. This radioactive element comes from the ground and can easily enter homes and buildings through openings in the foundation, and the only way to detect the amount of radon present is to test for it.

“The poster contest serves to raise awareness of the harmful effects of elevated levels of indoor radon gas and promote testing and mitigation of indoor radon,” said Jennifer Athey, a geologist with the Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys. “By participating in this activity, students aged 9-14 will learn about radon and how to reduce their risk of exposure.”

Prizes will be awarded to the top three Alaska winners, and the first-place poster will be submitted to the National Radon Poster Contest. The students’ artwork will be used locally to help inform people about radon as an indoor air health concern. Poster entries must be emailed or sent by Nov. 15, 2022. More information about the contest and an entry form are available at https://dggs.alaska.gov/outreach/radon-poster.html.

The annual Alaska Radon Poster Contest is sponsored by Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, UAF Cooperative Extension, American Lung Association in Alaska, and National Extension Healthy Homes Partnership, with support from the EPA's State Indoor Radon Grant to Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Quality.

Original source can be found here.