Carson Valley Middle School student Ana Marquez, from Minden, placed second in the National Radon Poster Contest, after taking home first place in the Nevada Radon Poster Contest. She competed against student winners from 10 other states and will receive $300 for her poster, "Radon: Test Your Home Now."

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.

In addition to $300, Marquez received $75 for placing first in the statewide contest. Her teacher, Lin Falkner, received $50 for classroom supplies. This is the third time that one of Falkner's students has placed in the National Radon Poster Contest, with former student Jacob Pipho taking first in last year's contest. In addition, all three winners from this year's Nevada Radon Contest were from her class.

Jacob Lewis, also from Carson Valley Middle School, placed second in the statewide contest with his poster, "The Silent Killer." He received $60, and Faulkner received $35 for classroom supplies. Sarah Farnham received $45 for placing third with her poster "Radon - Not Welcome" and Faulkner received $20.

The National Radon Poster Contest is cosponsored 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.

This is the 10th year that the Nevada Radon Education Program has held the Nevada Radon Poster Contest, open to children ages 9 to 14, which determines the state winner who is then allowed to compete in the national contest. The Nevada 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 123 entries. The winning posters were chosen by votes from personnel from the state Radiation Control Program; University of Nevada Cooperative Extension; College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources; Nevada Radon Education Program; Nevada's radon industry; program partners and volunteers; and Facebook Likes.

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, more than 28,000 homes have been tested in Nevada.