Greetings:                                                                                                                          June 2005

Healthy Indoor Air for America’s Homes encourages you to participate in the 2005 Radon Action Month Poster Contest and Community Awareness Campaign. The winning posters will be unveiled at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. in January 2005 and distributed nationally. The national poster contest winner and their chaperone, the sponsoring teacher or the “sponsoring affiliate/organization will win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the ceremony. In addition, one

Extension Educator will be selected to present their project results at the National Radon Meeting 2005.
This project could be implemented at a state or a designated local level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture – Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, in cooperation with Healthy Indoor Air for America’s Homes, is sponsoring a children's poster contest for children between the ages 9-14, which we hope will result in a variety of community and media events which will increase radon awareness and testing.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which is released from rock and soil. It can accumulate inside a home and at elevated levels increase the risk of developing lung cancer. In fact, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, second only to cigarette smoking. The attached materials offer suggestions on implementing the poster contest, conducting radon awareness programs in conjunction with poster award ceremonies, and getting media attention. It is important to contact your state radon office (for a list of state radon contacts go to: www.epa.gov/iaq/contacts.html) about this activity since they may have information and resources useful to your project. It will also help to discuss the level of involvement they are able to offer. A radon awareness PowerPoint presentation is available by contacting Barbara Allen with Montana State University Extension Service (blallen@montana.edu). Your state radon program can offer you state-specific information to localize your presentations. 

Other partners can include your county Extension offices, the state radon contact, American Lung Associations, local affiliates of the National Safety Council, and local members of the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (visit their website at: www.aarst.org) who may also be available for help. You may of course have your own ideas about great partners for this project. We ask that state leads be designated for each participating state. Each state lead is asked to s that involve promoting the poster contest to area middle schools, and collect the winning posters. The theme of the poster contest is radon awareness, radon risk reduction, as well as the hazards associated with radon. 

Students will be judged on specific criteria as specified in the contest rules (see Contest Rules). Entries may be submitted in either the “hand drawn” poster category or the “computer generated” category. (Please note that if any computer-generated images appear on the artwork, it will be judged in the “computer generated” category.) Participation can be through a public, private, or home-school classroom, or a sponsoring club (such as an art, computer, science club, Girl/Boy Scouts or 4-H). With assistance from the State Radon Directors and/or State Extension Partners, teachers in the participating classrooms or clubs are asked to aid the students in the development of the artwork. In order to qualify for the contest, it is required that one of the following radon topics be depicted in the artwork:

1. What is radon?
2. Where is radon found?
3. Where does radon come from?
4. Health effects of radon.
5. Radon test being performed.
6. Radon mitigation taking place.
7. House structure undergoing Radon Resistant New Construction.
   
   Note: Final judging is at the discretion of the National Judging Committee. To help fund your effort, mini-grants are being offered. For more information about these mini-grants, contact Barbara Allen with Montana State University Extension Service at (406) 994-3531 or email her at blallen@montana.edu. Perhaps we will see you in Washington, D.C. for the unveiling of the 2005 Radon Action Month poster! Please feel free to contact us if we can assist you in your efforts. 

Sincerely,

1. Foster coalitions between local Radon Partners and State Radon Program;

   Increase local publicity and awareness about radon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, and Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes general;

   Increase radon testing;

   Generate interest, enthusiasm and action about radon testing, mitigation and new construction at the grassroots level;

   Publicize Radon Action Week/Month and the toll free hotline (1-800-SOS-RADON) to empower people to take action;

2. Increase government, state, and local officials' awareness of the importance of radon risk reduction.

Grand Prize: Winners will win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the awards ceremony to be held January, 2005 for two students and their chaperone, the sponsoring teacher, and the sponsoring partner representative (Extension Educator or other designated non-profit partner). All participants with posters judged at the national level will receive a frame-able certificate.

Winners:
☺  one winner for non-computer generated entries
☺  one winner for computer generated art

Artwork Requirements:
Artwork must be original and the work of one student only. Students should focus on one of the six main topics and give this topic a title:

Radon Poster Contest Time-line 2004 - 2005