Childcare facilities in Colorado must now test their buildings for radon.
The Colorado Board of Health approved rules Wednesday that give existing facilities 18 months to test for the cancer-causing chemical. New facilities must test within their first six months of operation.
"The goal is to raise awareness about radon, to understand what the levels look like in existing childcare facilities that don't have the resources and to work with facilities that don't have the resources," said Therese Pilonetti is with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Radon enters buildings from the soil. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. behind smoking.
The CDPHE estimates that small to average childcare facilities will pay from $5 to $20 for radon testing.
