Community Radon Monitoring Initiative

ClearSkies

Continuous radon sensing for communities that can't afford to wait for a one-time test. Streaming live air quality data to anyone who needs it.

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The Problem

Radon is invisible, and almost always unmonitored

It has no smell, no color, no warning sign. It seeps through foundations and accumulates indoors, and most families live in it for years without knowing.

21,000

Deaths per year

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, responsible for roughly 21,000 deaths annually, according to the EPA.

1 in 15

US homes above the action level

The EPA estimates nearly 1 in 15 homes nationwide have elevated radon, and most families never find out because they've never tested, let alone monitored continuously.

4.0

pCi/L: EPA action level

The EPA recommends mitigation when indoor radon exceeds 4.0 pCi/L. The national average is 1.3 pCi/L, but Iowa averages significantly higher due to its geology.

71%

of Iowa homes exceed the limit

Iowa has the highest rate of homes above the EPA radon action level of any state in the US, making continuous monitoring especially urgent here.

#2

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the US, behind only smoking. According to the EPA, it kills more Americans each year than drunk driving. The risk is real, concentrated, and almost entirely preventable with timely detection.

The Solution

Always-on radon monitoring, free to receive

ClearSkies units read radon every 10 minutes and stream the data live, so a spike at 2 a.m. doesn't go unnoticed until the next annual test. We give them out at no cost, funded entirely by donations.

Free

To receive

ClearSkies units are given out at no charge. Each node costs $124 to build (covered by donations), because no one should have to pay just to know if their home is safe.

10 min

Polling interval

The RD200 pulsed ion chamber sensor samples the air continuously and reports a fresh reading every 10 minutes, logged in real time to the cloud.

Live

Streaming dashboard

Data flows from the sensor straight into Firebase Realtime Database, which feeds the login-gated dashboard built right into this site for a live, time-series view of your indoor air.

~

One-time tests only show a snapshot. Radon levels fluctuate with weather, season, HVAC cycles, and soil pressure. A 48-hour canister test can completely miss spikes that a continuous monitor would catch within hours. The bar chart in the readout above illustrates exactly this: elevated readings that come and go, invisible to any single-point test.

Deployment

Currently active in Iowa

ClearSkies sensors are live and streaming in three Iowa communities, chosen for their elevated baseline radon geology and community partnership.

4

Units deployed

3

Communities

~3,000

People protected

Want to bring ClearSkies to your community? Get in touch.

The Story

Built in two weeks by a 15-year-old

Ishaan
Suyal

Ishaan was scrolling Instagram when he came across just how dangerous radon really is. Two weeks later, he had a working prototype. He's a junior at Johnston High School, and he started ClearSkies because he believes no one should have to pay just to know if their home is safe, so every unit is given out free, funded entirely by donations.

Help expand the network

Each sensor deployed is one more household with real data instead of guesswork. Support ClearSkies to fund the next units.

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