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Health dept. offers free Radon testing
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Saturday, January 3, 2009 10:27 PM EST
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY - The Shiawassee County Health Department is issuing free Radon tests in January as part of Radon Action Month.
The SCHD joins the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the annual event representing a national effort to encourage Americans to test their homes for radon.
Radon is a tasteless, odorless, colorless gas that occurs in soil and rock and can increase the risk of developing lung cancer, according to SCHD Environmental Health Sanitarian Trevor Older.
“It's impossible to detect without a test,” he said. “There aren't any acute effects (of the gas). It's a long-term thing.”
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and is responsible for 20,000 deaths nationally, according to the EPA.
Older said exposure to radon increases during the winter.
“Basically, when you heat a house, the hot air goes up,” he said. “It creates a vacuum on the ground. That's why - in January - there is a greater risk. Radon levels can fluctuate based on temperature of the house and closed or open windows and doors.”
The gas will move upwards through soil and enter buildings through cracks and openings in the foundation, Older said in a press release. Outdoors, the atmosphere dilutes radon, but indoors it can accumulate to unhealthy levels.
Older said less than 1 percent of homes in Shiawassee County have been tested for radon. He encouraged any homes with basements be properly sealed and tested immediately.
“Whatever you can do to get less air from the ground into the house,” Older said. “A sealed sump pump cover will help but a completely sealed basement will be better.”
In some counties, as many as 45 percent of homes could have radon test levels above the EPA's recommended guidelines.
DEQ Indoor Radon Specialist Sue Hendershott said out of more than 1,200 radon tests in Shiawassee County, more than 28 percent of tests came back positive.
Hendershott said the number may seem high because most homes with positive tests may have tested more than once. She also said the EPA and DEQ recommend radon levels lower than four picocuries (level of radiation) per liter.
“If you test and you're dealing with 12 to 15 (picocuries) you will still need further tests to confirm it,” Hendershott said. “Winter months will mean higher results so the average could be much lower.”
Free radon testing kits are available at the SCHD Headquarters at 201 N. Shiawassee St. in Corunna through January. Kits are available year round but will be available for $5 after January.
Residents with questions are asked to call the SCHD at 743-2392 or the DEQ's information hotline at 1-800-RADON-GAS (1-800-723-6642).
- Contact Nathan Bruttell at 725-5136 extension 231 or nbruttellarguspress@gmail.com. Post comments about this story online at www.argus-press.com.