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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless | ||||||
| 3 | radioactive gas that comes from the radioactive decay of | ||||||
| 4 | naturally-occurring uranium in the soil; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The United States Surgeon General issued a Health | ||||||
| 6 | Advisory warning Americans that indoor radon is the | ||||||
| 7 | second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and | ||||||
| 8 | that breathing radon over prolonged periods can present a | ||||||
| 9 | significant health risk to families; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Radon Awareness Act requires sellers | ||||||
| 11 | to provide anyone buying a home, condominium, or other | ||||||
| 12 | residential property in Illinois with information about indoor | ||||||
| 13 | radon exposure and how radon is the leading cause of lung | ||||||
| 14 | cancer in non-smokers; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, The United States Environmental Protection Agency | ||||||
| 16 | has estimated that the number of annual lung cancer deaths | ||||||
| 17 | related to radon is 21,000; an estimated 1,160 Illinois | ||||||
| 18 | citizens may develop radon-related lung cancer every year; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, In accordance with our commitment to protecting | ||||||
| 20 | the citizens of Illinois from the health risks associated with | ||||||
| 21 | radon, the month of January 2008 was designated "Radon Action | ||||||
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| 1 | Month" by the Governor; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Over 50,000 measurements have been taken in the | ||||||
| 3 | State of Illinois since 2002, with homes exceeding the EPA's | ||||||
| 4 | Radon Action Level of 4.0 pCi/L being corrected; the State of | ||||||
| 5 | Illinois and the American Lung Association of Illinois | ||||||
| 6 | encourages all citizens to test their homes over 2 years; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and | ||||||
| 8 | the American Lung Association of Illinois are partnering to | ||||||
| 9 | provide radon information and guidance to the citizens of | ||||||
| 10 | Illinois in testing their homes to find out how much radon they | ||||||
| 11 | might be breathing; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the | ||||||
| 13 | American Lung Association of Illinois, the University of | ||||||
| 14 | Illinois Extension Office, the Respiratory Health Association | ||||||
| 15 | of Metropolitan Chicago, and the United States Environmental | ||||||
| 16 | Protection Agency are sponsoring video and poster contests for | ||||||
| 17 | students to increase public awareness of radon and to encourage | ||||||
| 18 | people to test their homes; therefore, be it
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| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 20 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 21 | designate January of 2010 as "Radon Action Month" in the State | ||||||
| 22 | of Illinois in order to raise awareness of radon and its | ||||||
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| 1 | effects on families in the State of Illinois and the nation at | ||||||
| 2 | large; and be it further
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| 3 | RESOLVED, That we urge the citizens of this State to | ||||||
| 4 | regularly test their homes for radon and reduce their risk of | ||||||
| 5 | developing lung cancer by taking corrective action when | ||||||
| 6 | necessary.
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