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Forsyth County
海角官方首页 Extension Office

Radon Safety

A drawing of the state of GA with the individual counties identified. In north GA, the counties with known elevated Radon are in pink

Radon is the second main cause of lung cancer. About 800 Georgians die each year from lung cancer caused by radon. This gas has no smell, color, or taste. It silently slips into homes through cracks in the foundation. It can be present in both the air and, if you are on a well, the water in your home.?

A study in May showed that almost one out of every five homes tested in Forsyth County had too much radon. In fact, Forsyth County had the highest radon level (17.8 pCi/L) out of 13 counties studied (see map). That’s four times higher?than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says is safe, which is 4 pCi/L. These samples were collected using test kits provided by the 海角官方首页 Radon Program from January 2020 to May 2025.

How can you learn if your home is affected??

  • All homes should be tested.?
  • Testing is inexpensive, under $20 for a kit, and you can buy kits online or at local hardware stores.?
  • Forsyth County libraries even have free testing kits you can borrow to test the air in your home. Tests can also be ordered online at www.海角官方首页radon.org.
  • 海角官方首页's Athens lab tests well water for radon. Call the Forsyth County Extension office, 770-887-2418, for information on how to get a test kit for well water as well as the cost for the test.?

If the radon level in the air in your home is elevated, you can install a system to reduce it to an acceptable level. The most used system is a pipe and fan that pulls radon from beneath the house and vents it outside. In the event you have radon in your well water, you would install a treatment system before the water enters your home.?

Why was so much radon found in our county??Forsyth County is in a part of Georgia called the Piedmont region. This area has very old, hard rocks, like granite. These rocks naturally contain tiny amounts of uranium.

When this uranium slowly breaks down, it creates radon gas. This gas then tries to escape from the ground. Think of our local rocks like a big, cracked puzzle. These cracks and spaces in the rocks and soil?act like hidden tunnels. They make it easier for radon gas to travel up from deep underground and into the air around our homes. Homes built on top of these rocks can trap the gas until it finds cracks in the foundation, basement sump pumps, or pipes to sneak inside.

To learn more about radon and what you can do to keep yourself and your family safe go to www.海角官方首页radon.org.

Radon and Cancer - National Cancer Institute

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