Canarelli Middle School student Joshua Fuji Fama, a sixth-grader from Las Vegas, placed second in the National Radon Poster Contest. He competed against students from nine other states and will receive $300 for his poster, "That Monster Radon."

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension's Radon Education Program conducts the Nevada Radon Poster Contest each year to educate students and their families on the dangers of radon in the home, and to encourage Nevadans to test their homes for radon, a radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that comes from the ground. Radon can accumulate in homes and can cause lung cancer.

The National Radon Poster Contest is co-sponsored by the American Lung Association and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The American Lung Association provides $1,500 in prize money for the three winning posters.

In addition to $300, Fama will receive $60 for placing second in the statewide contest. His teacher, Samantha Barry, will receive $35 for classroom supplies. They will receive their awards following an educational presentation on the dangers of radon at 1 p.m., Feb. 4 at Enterprise Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave. in Las Vegas.

Taylor Brown, an eighth-grader from Silverland Middle School in Fernley, placed first in the Nevada contest with her poster, "Corrupting Radon." She will receive $75, and her teacher, Meghan Holmes, will receive $50 to use for classroom supplies.

Valeria Ramirez, an eighth-grade student from Yerington Intermediate School in Yerington, placed third in the statewide contest with her poster, "Check!Check!Check! For Radon." She will receive $45, and her teacher, Debbie Pellegrini, will receive $20 for classroom supplies during a radon presentation program at 6 p.m., Feb. 28, at the Yerington Intermediate School Library, 215 Pearl St. in Yerington.

This is the eighth year that the Nevada Radon Education Program has participated in the Radon Poster Contest that is open to children, ages 9 to 14. The contest is sponsored by the Nevada Radon Education Program, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This year's Nevada Radon Poster Contest had 80 entries. Posters were judged on accuracy of information, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. Voting for the contest took place on the Nevada Radon Education's Facebook page; and by polling of Cooperative Extension faculty and staff, representatives from the Radiation Control Program of the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, Nevada radon industry professionals, representatives from the Nevada Radon Education Program, and other stakeholders.

The Nevada Radon Education Program is a program of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and is funded by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. Since the program began in 2007, nearly 24,000 homes have been tested in Nevada. Free test kits are available at Cooperative Extension offices and partner locations throughout the state until the end of February.

For more information, visit the Nevada Radon Education Program website, or call the Radon Hotline at 888-RADON10 (888-723-6610).