Kerri Robbins loves her home, so it was terrible to find out it made her sick.
Robbins is one of thousands of Utahns who have developed lung cancer after radon exposure. Utah has the lowest rate of smoking in the nation, but lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the state, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But like many Utahns, Robbins didn’t know about the higher risk of radon exposure. When she moved from Washington, she was worried about the traffic and didn’t know she should test her home for radon.
Uranium beneath the ground in the Beehive State leads to more potential for radon exposure.
Dr. Wally Akerley sees a “tremendous number” of patients at the University of Utah Health’s Huntsman Cancer Institute who don’t know the risks of radon.
Akerley, who specializes in treating lung cancer, described radiation as “the perfect carcinogen” and said people can’t see, smell or taste it.
“Often, people don’t know what radon is,” said Eleanor Divver, radon project coordinator for the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. “They don’t know that Utah, because of our geological hazards and makeup … that we see more radon.”
About one-third of homes have what the EPA classifies as elevated levels — four picocuries per liter, a measure of radioactive decay equivalent to 2.2 disintegrations per minute.
Awareness isn’t about scaring people, Divver said, but focused on letting them know radon is real and “testing is the only way to know what your levels are.”
Homes with high risk
Testing results released by Utah Radon Services, a statewide radon mitigation company, show that about half of homes have a lower, but still concerning, exposure of two picocuries and above.
The EPA recommends fixing homes with readings above four picocuries but to consider mitigation between two and four picocuries. Divver said the state doesn’t agree with using the lower threshold.
Texas-based Alpha Energy Laboratories conducted more than 73,000 tests between 2016 and 2024 across Utah.
Of those, about 70,000 were in 93 cities where the third-party lab took at least 100 tests.
In 58 of the cities, the average measurement was more than four picocuries per liter.
The highest was Farr West, where 118 tests showed an average measurement of 24.7 picocuries per liter.
Robbins’ home city of Lehi has elevated risk, according to the results. So does Draper, where she lived for about a year before moving into her current home.
Akerley, with the Huntsman Cancer Institute, cautioned people from feeling either hopeless or secure based on the results. There are many examples where frequency in an area may be high, he said, but out of six houses in a row, only one of them or all but one of them could have high levels of radon.
“There’s no substitute for actually testing,” he said.
When Robbins tested her home, her radon exposure was similar to smoking three packs a day, she said. She was so mad, Robbins said, that she posted about radon on Facebook. Her neighbors saw the post, she said, and all but one of 37 people who tested their homes had elevated or high radon levels.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kerri Robbins, a Lehi resident who was diagnosed with non-smoking lung cancer because of radon exposure in her home, is pictured on Thursday, Jan 30, 2025.
Robbins hired a contractor for mitigation to address the radon levels.
The most common mitigation method is sub-slab depressurization, said Brad Callister, vice president of Utah Radon Services. That’s a ventilation system that removes vapors from beneath a home’s concrete slab.
It reroutes the air with radon to the outside, Callister said, and is a permanent solution that generally costs about $1,800 to $2,200. He added a lot of companies offer 0% financing for payments.
Testing is ‘super easy’
Testing to see whether mitigation is necessary is “super easy,” Divver with the state’s environmental quality department said. There’s a short tutorial available at radon.utah.gov.
And people can get tests for a low cost — or free.
Utah Radon Services offers free tests. The state provides radon tests for about $11 each but is providing 100 for free.
Divver acknowledged people might feel overwhelmed, especially if their test shows elevated levels, but they can go to the state’s page about radon to “come down off that cliff” and get advice.
People who want to talk to someone local can reach out to the radon coordinator in their local health district, Divver said.
Utahns who decide to address the radon levels in their home should make sure to only use certified mitigators, she said, and can refer to a list at radon.utah.gov.
“There’s nothing hard about it whatsoever,” Robbins said. “And the mediation is fast and easy.”
Megan Banta is The Salt Lake Tribune’s data enterprise reporter, a philanthropically supported position. The Tribune retains control over all editorial decisions.
