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With 11 per cent of the 3,000 tested local homes showing higher-than-safe levels of radon, it begs the question: What about all the homes that have not been tested?

“It is something that should be on people’s radar,” Phil Wong, environmental health manager at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit said last week, speaking to a new report on Radon Gas Initiatives in Windsor-Essex County.

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Radon, a radioactive gas produced when naturally occurring uranium decays in the soil and rock beneath your home, is the No. 2 cause of lung cancer after smoking, Wong said.

“The one thing with radon is it is a silent killer. You don’t know it’s there. You can’t see it, taste it, smell it. You’ve got to test for it.”

In outdoor air, radon is diluted and isn’t a danger, but when it enters a home — usually through the basement — it can accumulate to high levels and exposure can lead to lung cancer. Sixteen per cent of all lung cancer deaths are attributed to radon.