With January as Radon Action Month in Michigan, the St. Clair County Health Department is encouraging all residents to learn more about this environmental hazard and test their homes.
Free radon test kits are available (while supplies last) throughout January to St. Clair County residents at the St. Clair County Health Department, during regular business hours, at 3415 28th Street in Port Huron, with one test given per home.Testing is easy, inexpensive and the only way to know if a home has a radon problem.
Radon is a naturally-occurring, radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of radium found in soil and rock, and cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. Outdoors, radon is diluted by the atmosphere to safe levels, but indoors, radon can concentrate and lead to elevated and harmful radon levels. Radon enters buildings through openings in the foundation floor or walls (sump openings, crawl spaces, cracks) and can become trapped inside.
St. Clair County Environmental Health Director, Steve Demick, encourages residents to take advantage of this opportunity to learn about radon and test their home for this gas. Demick explained that radon exposure is considered the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, and that because radon cannot be detected via taste, smell or sight, people tend to ignore the possibility that it might exist at high levels in their homes.
With the windows and doors shut for the season, winter is the ideal time to test for radon. For more information, contact St. Clair County’s Environmental Health Division at (810) 987-5306.
