What is Radon?
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that can cause cancer. You can’t see, smell or taste it, but radon may be in your home. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), radon is the first leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in smokers.
According to the EPA, the entire state of Iowa is considered at high risk for radon gas in homes. High levels of radon can be found in any type of home, so it is important for everyone to test their home.
IDPH, the Iowa Cancer Consortium and state partners have developed and are implementing a state comprehensive cancer control plan. The plan encourages health-care providers to routinely ask patients about healthy lifestyle factors including in-home radon testing, local health departments to provide access to low-cost radon test kits and encourages all Iowan’s to test their home for radon. Priority VI of the plan addresses decreasing the environmental exposure to radon. A copy of the Iowa Cancer Plan can be viewed here; http://canceriowa.org/Iowa-Cancer-Plan.aspx
The Iowa Department of Public Health contracts with the American Lung Association to maintain the Health Air - Radon in Iowa website, and staff Iowa's Radon Hotline. You can reach the Hotline by calling 1-800-383-5992 to order low-cost radon test kits and find answers to your radon questions. Operating hours are 8:30 am (CST) through 4:30 pm (CST). If you are calling after standard operating hours, the automated messaging service will record your message and a staff member will return your call.
For all other questions, please refer to the staff below.
Contact Information
Office hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday.
Credentialing, Education/Outreach:
Randy Lane, 515-281-4928
Program Oversight:
Angela Leek, 515-371-2255
For information on the 2023 EPA Region 7 Stakeholders Meeting click the "Get Certified" bar to the left of this section.