Carson Valley Middle School student Ayden Strange from Gardnerville placed first in the 2020 Nevada Radon Poster Contest with his poster, “The Invisible Reaper.”

University of Nevada, Reno 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 increase the risk of developing lung cancer.

For placing first, Strange will receive a $75 gift card of his choice. His teacher, Jennifer Celio, will receive a $50 gift card for classroom supplies. Strange will receive his award after a radon presentation 6 p.m., Jan. 30, at the CVIC Hall, 1604 Esmeralda Ave. in Minden. Mason Diers from Cornerstone Christian Academy in Las Vegas, who placed second, will receive a $60 gift card and his teacher, Alan Surbaugh, will receive a gift card for $35. Diers will receive his award after a radon presentation 6 p.m., Jan. 28, at the Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive in Las Vegas. The third-place winner, Dakota Butler from Odyssey Charter School in Las Vegas, will receive a $45 gift card and her teacher, Gail Nelson, will receive a $20 gift card. Butler and Nelson will both receive their awards after a radon presentation 2 p.m., Jan. 26, at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave. in Las Vegas.  

In addition to the gift card awards, each winner will also receive a certificate and radon giveaways.

This is the 11th year that the Nevada Radon Education Program has held the contest, which is open to children ages 9 to 14. The contest is sponsored by the Nevada Radon Education Program; Extension; the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This year’s Nevada Radon Poster Contest had 61 entries. Posters were judged on information accuracy, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. Winning posters were chosen by Facebook likes; votes from program partners and volunteers; and votes from personnel from the state Radiation Control Program; Nevada’s radon industry; Extension; the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources; and the Nevada Radon Education Program.

The Nevada Radon Education Program is a program of University of Nevada, Reno Extension and is funded by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health through Grant Number K1-96963520-0 from the EPA. Since the program began in 2007, more than 30,000 homes have been tested in Nevada.

Free test kits are available at Extension offices and partner locations throughout the state until the end of February.

For more information, call the Radon Hotline at 1-888-RADON10 (1-888-723-6610) or visit the Nevada Radon Education Program website at  RadonNV.com. Extension, the EPA and the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health urge all Nevadans to test their homes for radon.