Because winter is the best time to test homes for radon levels, the Freeborn County Public Health Department is offering free radon home-testing kits.

According to Freeborn County Public Health Director Lois Ahern, the department has received 100 kits from the Minnesota Department of Health, free to Freeborn County residents.

Radon is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas produced from the natural decay of uranium found in nearly all soils. Ahern said people who live in Minnesota are at a slightly higher risk of having radon in their homes because of the geology patterns underground. It typically enters a home through the foundation.

Radon has been cited as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Ahern said cancer caused by radon is a long-term process that can be preventable by using the kits to find out if a home is receiving an elevated level of the gas.

“There is no one group that’s more susceptible, and it would take many years of exposure to get lung cancer through radon exposure,” she said. “Being exposed for just a few days isn’t going to increase your risk.”

The kits being distributed by public health are short-term and take three to five days. Ahern advised placing it in rooms at the lowest level of houses that are being used, such as bedrooms or family areas in basements. Tests should not be conducted in laundry or utility rooms, kitchens or bathrooms, due to ventilation skewing the results.

She said if radon levels are tested at what’s considered to be high, long-term kits can then be obtained to further look into the problem.

Ahern said state health officials advise homeowners to test their homes for radon every two to five years.