Teens Create Videos to Promote Radon Awareness

SPRINGFIELD - Ten short videos created by Illinois high school students are competing for the top prize in a radon awareness video contest sponsored by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the American Lung Association in Illinois (ALA-IL).  The winning video in the 2011 Illinois High School Radon Video Contest will be determined by on-line public voting that will be open through midnight on April 5.

The 10 finalists were selected from nearly 100 videos submitted for consideration.  A panel of judges from the sponsoring organizations evaluated the entries for accuracy, creativity and effectiveness in encouraging people to test their homes for radon, a radioactive gas known to cause lung cancer.  The score was combined with on-line voting by the public to determine the finalists.

The finalist videos are available for viewing at http://www.healthhouse.org/radon/videocontest.cfm.  Only one vote per day per IP address will be included in vote totals. 

High schools represented by the finalists include:

Capital Area Career Center, Springfield
Collinsville High School, Collinsville
Chatham Glenwood High School, Chatham
Lincoln-Way Central High School, New Lenox
Mahomet-Seymour High School, Mahomet
Normal Community High School, Normal
Northside College Prepatory High School, Chicago (two finalists)
O'Fallon Township High School, O'Fallon
Shawnee Senior High School, Wolf Lake

First, second and third place winners will be named.  Prizes include:

• 1st place -- $2,000 to the winning school for educational activities and $1,000 to the class/student who created the video.
• 2nd place -- $500 to the school and $500 to class/student.
• 3rd place -- $250 to the school and $250 to class/student.

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.