Canarelli Middle School student Joshua Fuji Fama, a sixth-grader from Las Vegas, placed second in the National Radon Poster Contest. He competed against students from nine other states and will receive $300 for his poster, "That Monster Radon."
University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä Cooperative Extension's Radon Education Program conducts the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Poster Contest each year to educate students and their families on the dangers of radon in the home, and to encourage ÁùºÏ±¦µäns 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.
The National Radon Poster Contest is co-sponsored 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.
In addition to $300, Fama will receive $60 for placing second in the statewide contest. His teacher, Samantha Barry, will receive $35 for classroom supplies. They will receive their awards following an educational presentation on the dangers of radon at 1 p.m., Feb. 4 at Enterprise Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave. in Las Vegas.
Taylor Brown, an eighth-grader from Silverland Middle School in Fernley, placed first in the ÁùºÏ±¦µä contest with her poster, "Corrupting Radon." She will receive $75, and her teacher, Meghan Holmes, will receive $50 to use for classroom supplies.
Valeria Ramirez, an eighth-grade student from Yerington Intermediate School in Yerington, placed third in the statewide contest with her poster, "Check!Check!Check! For Radon." She will receive $45, and her teacher, Debbie Pellegrini, will receive $20 for classroom supplies during a radon presentation program at 6 p.m., Feb. 28, at the Yerington Intermediate School Library, 215 Pearl St. in Yerington.
This is the eighth year that the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program has participated in the Radon Poster Contest that is open to children, ages 9 to 14. The contest is sponsored by the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program, University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä Cooperative Extension, the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Public and Behavioral Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
This year's ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Poster Contest had 80 entries. Posters were judged on accuracy of information, visual communication of the topic, reproducibility and originality. Voting for the contest took place on the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education's Facebook page; and by polling of Cooperative Extension faculty and staff, representatives from the Radiation Control Program of the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Public and Behavioral Health, ÁùºÏ±¦µä radon industry professionals, representatives from the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program, and other stakeholders.
The ÁùºÏ±¦µä Radon Education Program is a program of University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä Cooperative Extension and is funded by the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Public and Behavioral Health. Since the program began in 2007, nearly 24,000 homes have been tested in ÁùºÏ±¦µä. Free test kits are available at Cooperative Extension offices and partner locations throughout the state until the end of February.
For more information, visit the , or call the Radon Hotline at 888-RADON10 (888-723-6610).
