The Piedmont Health District in Farmville has obtained a limited number of free radon test kits that can be picked up at the local Health Departments in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway or Prince Edward. The kits come with instructions and a mailer for sending to the laboratory. The normal retail price for these kits would be about $15. Reduced price test kits for Virginia can also be ordered online at http://cgi.radon.com/sub/va/

Exposure to indoor radon, a colorless, odorless radioactive gas, is considered the second leading cause of lung cancer, and the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked. Exposure to radon may cause as many as 21,000 cases of lung cancer each year in the United States, including almost 700 cases per year in Virginia.

Testing your home is the only way to know for sure if an indoor radon problem exists.

More radon information is available online at the Virginia Department of Health website at www.vdh.virginia.gov/radiological-health/indoor-radon-program/ or on the EPA website at www.epa.gov/radon/index.html.