JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) Radon Program is partnering with the Mississippi Public Library System to offer free radon home test kits to Mississippi residents.

Radon is an odorless, colorless gas and is the second leading cause of lung cancer nationwide. More than 20,000 Americans die of radon-related lung cancer each year, and radon causes up to 15 percent of lung cancers worldwide.

Radon is a radioactive gas found in nature. Its source is natural uranium in the earth. Being a gas, radon moves upward out of the soil and into the air, where it can enter and accumulate in homes. Uranium is found in most soils and in granite.

Test kits are available while supplies last at the following libraries across the state:

Northern Mississippi:

• Lee County Public Library — Tupelo
• Starkville/Oktibbeha Public Library — Starkville
• Carrollton/North Carrollton Public Library — North Carrollton
• Humphreys County Public Library — Belzoni
• Elizabeth Jones Public Library — Grenada
• Indianola/Sunflower Public Library — Indianola
• Greenwood/Leflore Public Library — Greenwood

Central Mississippi:

• B.S. Ricks Public Library — Yazoo City
• Eudora Welty Public Library — Jackson
• Dekalb County Public Library — Dekalb
• Attala County Public Library — Kosciusko
• Leake County Public Library — Carthage
• Meridian-Lauderdale Public Library — Meridian

Southern Mississippi:

• Hattiesburg Public Library — Hattiesburg
• Poplarville Public Library — Poplarville

For more information on radon exposure, visit the MSDH website at www.HealthyMS.com/radon.

Press Contact: MSDH Office of Communications, (601) 576-7667
Note to media: After hours or during emergencies, call 601-576-7400.