Visitor urges radon testing during public comment; points residents to free state test kits

A Lyndhurst resident who works with Wynn Home Inspections told the Mayfield Heights City Council during public comment that January is EPA Radon Awareness Month and urged residents to test their homes for radon.

Mike Mogio described radon as a leading cause of lung cancer and said it is the leading cause among non-smokers. He told the council that modern, well-sealed homes can trap radon and that testing is the only way to know whether a household has elevated levels. He pointed residents to ohio.radon.com for free state-issued test kits and said private companies offer testing services as well.

Mogio explained mitigation typically consists of a mechanical venting system that draws soil gas out from beneath the home and exhausts it above the roofline where it dissipates; he described mitigation as effective and said his company does not perform mitigation work so as to avoid a conflict of interest, instead providing testing only. He offered a ballpark cost estimate during his remarks but did not provide a precise figure.

Councilmembers asked follow-up questions about radon sources and mitigation methods; Mogio reiterated that radon comes from natural decay in the ground and that mitigation systems generally remove it from indoor air.