(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that supporters say attacks the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. The bill would require radon mitigation systems in newly constructed homes in Iowa. Representative Hans Wilz of Ottumwa says many home builders already install the systems.

“Radon is estimated to cause nearly 400 deaths annually in the State of Iowa,” Wilz said. “And all 99 counties in the State of Iowa have been identified as a Zone One — the highest risk category by the EPA.” Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that seeps into homes through cracks in the foundation.

Representative Austin Baeth of Des Moines — a doctor of internal medicine — says it’s not everyday that legislators pass bills that will directly save lives. “I’ve too many times diagnosed people with cancer who were not smokers,” Baeth said, “and it was because of their exposure to radon.”

The House unanimously passed the same bill two years ago, but it stalled in the senate.