Public Radio For Eastern North Carolina 89.3 WTEB New Bern 88.5 WZNB New Bern 91.5 WBJD Atlantic Beach 90.3 WKNS Kinston 88.5 WHYC Swan Quarter 89.9 W210CF Greenville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State DHHS program offering free radon testing kits

A state agency is encouraging home owners to test this month for radon gas. George Olsen has more.

The North Carolina Radon Program, part of the state Department of Health and Human Services, is offering a limited number of free radon test kits. Radon is an odorless, colorless naturally occurring gas which the American Cancer Society says is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. The U-S Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon is responsible for more than 22,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States. Radon is a particular threat during winter months when doors and windows are kept shut to preserve heat. During National Radon Action Month in January the Radon Program will distribute the test kits while they last to those requesting. Information on the program is available at ncradon.org. I’m George Olsen.

George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.