More than 30 Videos Promoting Radon Awareness Compete for Prize in IEMA, ALA-IL Contest

SPRINGFIELD - More than 30 radon awareness videos created by teens from throughout Illinois are available for public viewing and voting as part of the "2010 Illinois High School Radon Video Contest."  The contest was designed to increase public awareness of the health hazards of radon, a radioactive gas known to cause lung cancer.

The video contest is sponsored by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the American Lung Association in Illinois (ALA-IL), in cooperation with the University of Illinois Extension Office, Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

High schools with one or more entries in the contest include:

Georgetown-Ridge H.S. (Georgetown)
Manual H.S. (Peoria)
Normal Community H.S. (Normal)
Batavia H.S. (Batavia)
Newton Community H.S. (Newton)
South Elgin H.S. (South Elgin)
Woodstock H.S. (Woodstock)
Lincoln Community H.S. (Lincoln)
Wheaton North H.S. (Wheaton)
Glenwood H.S. (Chatham)
Rushville-Industry H.S. (Rushville)
Reed Custer H.S. (Braidwood)
Civic Memorial H.S. (Bethalto) 

The 32 one-minute video entries are available for viewing through the ALA-IL website at www.lungil.org.  Only one vote per day per IP address will be included in vote totals.  Public voting will continue through March 31, and those totals will be combined with judging by a panel of contest sponsors to determine the winning entry.  The contest winner will be announced in April.

The winning entrants' school will receive a $2,000 prize to be used for curricular activities, and the winning student or students will receive a $1,000 prize.  The winning video will also be featured on the IEMA and ALA-IL websites.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that comes from the radioactive decay of naturally-occurring uranium in the soil.  It can enter homes and buildings through small cracks in the foundation, sump pumps or soil in crawlspaces.  The USEPA has determined that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, behind smoking.  However, among non-smokers, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer.