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Environmental Protection Agency considers Middlesex and Worcester counties as high-risk areas for radon.

There's no requirement to test for radon, but government officials recommend all building owners do so.

"The biggest problem with radon is you just don't know until you test, because it is completely invisible," said Carolyn Allen, president of radon-tester AccuStar Labs in Medway.

"So you've got a serious health risk you can't see or smell or taste." State officials have been sounding the alarm on carbon monoxide poisoning as they prepare for a new law requiring homes and apartments to carry CO detectors by Friday.

Carbon monoxide poses a more immediate risk than radon, capable of killing within minutes, while radon exerts adverse health effects over a lifetime.

Yet carbon monoxide is less prolific, killing an estimated 1,000 Americans each year, according to the National Safety Council.

The EPA recommends testing air in buildings for radon at the time of purchase, and once every two years afterward, said Dan Burke, who oversees the agency's radon grants to New England states.

Ideally, testing should be done in the basement or lowest level of a home during winter months, because the contrast in temperature between the cold ground and heated basement causes radon to be sucked inside, he said.

About one in 15 U.S.

homes have ...

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