Bridgewater, New Jersey. Divya Ganesan, a student at York Art Studio, has won third place in the National Radon Poster Contest. She is the student of teacher Ting Ting Hsu, and daughter of Ravi Ganesan and Rajini Pothapu. She was recognized at the National Radon Poster Contest Awards Ceremony at the EPA sponsored Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Symposium held in Washing ton, DC, this week.
As a New Jersey state contest third place winner, Divya’s poster was entered into the 2011 National Radon Poster Contest which is sponsored by Kansas State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The winners of the National Poster Contest along with a parent and sponsor receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to attend the national award ceremony in January 2011. The nationwide contest was held to highlight the risks posed by exposure to indoor radon. The posters can be seen at Kansas State University’s website, www.sosradon.org.
Radon is formed by the natural radioactive decay of uranium in rock, soil, and water. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. Naturally existing, low levels of uranium occur widely in Earth's crust. It can be found in all 50 states. Once produced, radon moves through the ground to the air above. Radon gas decays into radioactive particles that can get trapped in your lungs when you breathe. As they break down further, these particles release small bursts of energy. This can damage lung tissue and lead to lung cancer over the course of your lifetime. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon causes about 21,000 deaths from lung cancer annually in the United States. The U.S. Surgeon General has warned that radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the second leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking.
More information on the New Jersey contest is available at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/PosterWinners.htm and at their main radon web page at http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/index.htm. The toll-free number for radon in New Jersey is 1-800-648-0394.
Fortunately, the level of radon exposure in homes, schools, and other buildings can be determined through a simple test. Testing for radon is easy, inexpensive, and effective. If elevated levels are detected, proven mitigation techniques can be used to lower the levels.
For more information on radon, call the National Radon Helpline at (800) 55-RADON (557-2366).
