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Lehi woman advocates for more awareness of home radon levels after lung cancer diagnosis

By Curtis Booker - | Jan 18, 2025

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

Ron and Kerri Robbins are shown inside of their Lehi home on Nov. 19, 2024.

Kerri Robbins isn’t shy about advocating for more awareness about the dangers of radon, potentially swirling in Utah homes.

Robbins, a Lehi resident, keeps a stack of cards on her that she hands out to neighbors, people in her community and even others she interacts with at the grocery store. On them is information for residents to access radon testing in their homes.

It’s information she personally wishes she’d known sooner.

In 2022, Robbins was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-smoking lung cancer.

Initially, doctors discovered a brain tumor when she went to the emergency room one summer morning after she’d been throwing up inside her home and was confused.

Courtesy UtahRadon.org

A photo of a map taken during a visit at the Utah State Capitol on Thursday Jan. 16, 2024 shows high levels of radon in Utah County.

“I’d been on my treadmill and started spitting up water and went into the bathroom to clean myself up. When I was washing my hands as I looked in the mirror, I didn’t know why I was there,” Robbins explained.

After a string of follow-up visits, she said doctors determined the primary source as cancer, which had metastasized into brain tumors.

“You could have just knocked me over with a feather. I’d been healthy, hadn’t taken hardly any days off work. I had no symptoms other than the confusion, which the neurosurgeon later said was probably a small seizure,” Robbins told the Daily Herald.

Shortly after the diagnosis, she met with an oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and learned more about what may have caused the illness.

“He goes, ‘Have you tested your house for radon?’ And I said, ‘I didn’t know we needed to,'” Robbins recounted.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

A radon level detection monitor sits on the kitchen counter inside of the home of Kerri and Ron Robbins in Lehi on Nov. 19, 2024.

When she and her husband, Ron, had their home tested, they found radon levels at just around 32 picocuries per liter of air, which was about the equivalent of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, she described.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, levels higher than 4 pCi/L are considered unsafe, and residents should consider taking action with a radon mitigation system.

Radon is an odorless and invisible radioactive gas that forms when uranium in the soil breaks down.

It’s also the second-leading cause of lung cancer, since breathing it can damage cells in the lungs, according to health officials.

Over 21,000 deaths are reported each year in the United States due to lung cancer, according to the EPA.

Courtesy UtahRadon.org

Kerri and Ron Robbins pose for a photo during a visit to the Utah State Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, to spread awareness about radon and lung cancer risks.

Robbins worked from home during and even before the pandemic, spending a great deal of time in a front office on the lowest level of her home, where high levels of radon typically accumulate.

The Robbinses said they moved into their Lehi home in 2018 to be near their children and grandkids, after living in Idaho for a time.

While getting adjusted to increased traffic and various Utah laws, they had no idea that radon also would be a concern.

Robbins was upset to learn this life-changing illness was due to something she wasn’t largely aware of, but that sparked a passion to spread awareness about the dangers of radon.

She reached out to dozens of people in her community and urged them to test for radon in their homes.

Most of them knew nothing about radon, she said, approximating that about 37 people got back to her with what they discovered, and their results varied.

“I thought, ‘If this happens to me, it can happen to others.’ And especially after canvassing my neighborhood and finding out how few people knew about it, I thought, ‘We have got to tell people that live here in Utah,'” Robbins said.

Radon experts and health officials say radon levels can differ from home to home within a neighborhood, so they encourage everyone to test.

UtahRadon.org estimates that 1 in 3 homes in Utah have high levels of radon.

The organization says radon is a problem in Utah because there is uranium in all corners of the state, which means radon can be present in any home, office, school or other building.

In conjunction with National Radon Action Month, which is observed annually in January, recent data shows areas in Utah at the highest risk of radon.

Of those that have been tested, around 51% of homes in Utah County measure at or above the World Health Organization’s mitigation threshold for high levels of the gas, according to Utah Radon.org.

In Davis and Weber counties, less than 45% of homes tested had high levels of radon.

However, the Utah County Health Department says radon at any level inside of a home isn’t safe and residents shouldn’t ignore testing, even if the risks in their community aren’t as severe compared to others.

“It’s still important for you to test your home, because my neighbor could have a low level when they test, and I can have a high level. … It’s still a little bit random that way,” said Wendy Wright, radon program coordinator at the Utah County Health Department.

Currently, Utah doesn’t have any legislation that requires radon testing in homes, or any protections in rental agreements that require landlords to test homes or apartments for radon before renting to tenants.

Colorado recently passed a law that could allow a renter to exit a lease agreement should their unit test for unsafe radon levels.

According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, higher levels of radon are likely during the winter months because windows and doors are shut to keep warmer air inside.

“You turn on your heater, and that radon just goes on up through your home,” said Eleanor Divver, radon coordinator for the DEQ.

She added that newer homes are just as susceptible as older homes to experience lingering levels of radon.

Ultimately, Utah health officials say more awareness is needed surrounding the issue and it starts with getting a home test kit, which can be purchased for around $11 at the DEQ. In addition to test kits, residents also can learn more about radon by visiting Radon.Utah.gov.

The Utah County Health Department also allows residents to check out radon monitors for $25, which can be picked up by appointment at the agency’s Provo office.

UtahRadon.org also is offering one kit per household.

Costs could vary, should a home require further action to address the issue and lower radon levels.

The Robbinses had a radon mitigation system installed in their home to constantly monitor the level of gas. Kerri Robbins describes it as a small price to pay to keep their home safe.

“They gave Kerri a little digital monitor, so she’s got it on her kitchen cabinet,” Ron Robbins said. “She knows exactly what her levels are. And with the mitigation system, they’re always under the acceptable level.”

Though Kerri Robbins continues to deal with health complications due to radon-induced lung cancer, she stands defiant by advocating for increased education about the lurking dangers of radon.

Her ultimate hope is to see the Utah Legislature catch up with other states in enacting measures to prevent others from dealing with what she’s experienced.

“I want there to be a law so that people are aware and know that there is a possible danger, and all you have to do is test to find out,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the Utah County Health Department does not sell home radon test kits.