After Dispatch probe, ODH runs out of free radon tests
This article was originally published in The Columbus Dispatch with support from our 2025 National Fellowship and Dennis A. Hunt Fund.
Radon test kits for sale sit on the shelf of a hardware store in Columbus. The Dispatch is looking for central Ohioans to share their stories about radon for a chance at free testing.
Max Filby
In the days after The Dispatch's "Invisible Killer" investigation into radon failures published, the Ohio Department of Health received so many requests for free radon test kits that it actually ran out Sunday.
Since Nov. 20, the state has received 3,514 requests for free radon test kits, the health department told The Dispatch. By comparison, the Ohio Department of Health gave out 11,457 free tests in all of 2024, data shows.
When users went to request a test Sunday afternoon into Monday, they were met with a message that said all test kits had been distributed. The department's website instead offered users the opportunity to purchase tests at a discounted rate.
As of Monday evening, an Ohio Department of Health spokesman said the state had acquired more tests and Ohioans could again request free kits.
The state typically gives away most of its radon test kits in January, which became Ohio Radon Awareness Month in 2022. The state has briefly run out of test kits in the past as well, a spokesperson said.
The Dispatch's "Invisible Killer" investigation, which published online Nov. 20, found that federal, state and local policymakers have for decades failed to protect Ohioans from radon – an odorless, colorless gas known as the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers.
Ohio is behind other states when it comes to radon testing and mitigation efforts, The Dispatch revealed.
At least 11 states require radon testing in schools and 13 require testing be performed in daycares. Ohio is not one of them.
Since 1993, Ohio has required home sellers notify potential buyers of previous radon testing results in their house.
But, Ohio offers nothing in the way of protection for renters as the state fails to require landlords to notify tenants of previous radon test results.
Illinois, Colorado and Maine require landlords disclose radon test results to tenants, according to the Environmental Law Institute. Colorado and Illinois also allow tenants to break their lease without penalty if a landlord fails to mitigate for radon once unsafe levels are found. Mitigation typically runs anywhere from $500 to $2,500 or so.
While no level of radon is considered safe, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends remediation if a test returns results of 4 picocuries per liter or higher.
Test kits can be purchased at local hardware stores for around $20. Along with its free test kit program, the Ohio Department of Health offers a listing of licensed professionals who can be hired to test and mitigate buildings for radon.
The Dispatch has partnered with the Columbus Metropolitan Library to allow library card holders to borrow free continuous radon monitors to test their homes.
The monitors will become available for the first time at a Dec. 11 launch event at 6 p.m. at the Reynoldsburg Branch library at 1402 Brice Road. After the event, a monitor will be available to borrow from each of the library's 23 branches.