The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
City giving away free radon testing kits
MIDDLETOWN —The Connecticut Department of Public Health and city Health Department are encouraging residents to test their homes for radon gas, the leading environmental cause of cancer deaths.
Local health officials have joined the EPA and DPH to encourage city residents to check their homes for radon by offering a limited number of free test kits, according to a press release.
DPH has provided free test kits to 36 local health department/district partners for distribution in their communities.
Health officials estimate that radon is responsible for more than 21,100 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States, the news release explained.
Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas which comes from the breakdown of uranium in the soil. When emitted into open air, radon is rendered virtually harmless. However, when it becomes trapped into an enclosed structure such as a house, radon can accumulate to dangerous levels over an extended period of time, according to health officials.
Prolonged exposure to high levels of radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers in the country. One out of every 15 homes in the United States has an elevated level of radon, the statement said.
“Your neighbor's house may not have a radon problem, but you might. The only sure way to know if your home has a radon problem is to test for it,” health officials wrote.
The radon test kits and are available on a firstcome, first-served basis and can be picked up at the Middletown Health Department in the lower level of the Municipal Building during normal business hours or mailed upon request by calling 860-6384962. For information, visitmiddletownct.gov.