| 112th Year, 46th Issue | Thursday, June 28, 2001 | Sparta, North Carolina |
Editor's note: This is the first of two parts in a series on radon testing and elimination.
Recent reports of high levels of radon in Alleghany County and the surrounding mountain counties has caused some degree of alarm, according to N.C. Cooperative Extension Radon Educator Susan E. Pope.
The study has prompted alarm in many people both here and across the state and led Pope and others to try and disseminate information on what actions may be taken to test for radon.
Pope, who works out of an office in Raleigh, said she has been bombarded with calls from this county and across the state about radon since the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) issued a statement on June 12 concerning high levels of radon in groundwater in the Blue Ridge area of the New River watershed.
While radon in the water is a health risk for local residents, according to Pope, radon in the air is much more serious. Radon, a radioactive substance created when uranium breaks down in the environment, has been linked to cases of lung cancer in studies, Pope said.
Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News!
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