September 4, 2007

The Department of Environmental Quality is encouraging children ages 9-14 to submit entries for the National Radon Poster Contest. The contest, sponsored by the National Safety Council and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is intended to increase awareness about the risks posed by exposure to indoor radon.

The state entries will be judged in Lansing in mid-October, and the top three posters will be forwarded for entry in the National Contest. The winner of the National Contest will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC, to attend an award ceremony during National Radon Action Month in January, 2008.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and the leading cause among nonsmokers. The EPA estimates that radon causes approximately 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year, and the Michigan Cancer Consortium estimates that more than 600 of those occur in Michigan alone!

Posters can be hand-drawn or computer-generated and must depict one of the following topics: what radon is, where it comes from, how it gets into our homes, that it can cause lung cancer, or that homes should be tested for radon. Artwork must be original, and only one entry may be submitted per child.

Entries must be received by October 15, 2007, and should be sent to the DEQ, Waste and Hazardous Materials Division, Radon Program, 815 Terminal Road, Lansing, MI 48906. Contest guidelines and a submittal form are available on the Web at http://www.nsc.org/issues/radon, or call the DEQ's Radon Program at 1-800-RADON GAS (1-800-723-6642) for more information.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised September 4, 2007 by Pat Watson