ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – January is Radon Action Month. Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties (PHDM) is offering a free resource to help local residents protect their homes from the radioactive gas.
According to PHDM Environmental Health Director Ian Nelson, radon is one of the leading causes of lung cancer in the United States, second only to smoking. The naturally occurring, odorless gas is created underground by the breakdown of metals like uranium.
“It moves upward until it reaches the ground surface,” Nelson explained. “Then, it becomes a part of the air that we breathe. The issue is that it can enter our home through our building’s foundation, and it can become trapped within the home and reach unsafe levels.”
Once it is in a home, residents are exposed to long-term elevated radon levels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a radon action level of 4.0 picocuries per liter.
Delta and Menominee County residents can get radon test kits, which usually cost $10, free of charge all month long through the health department. Nelson says the short-term test kit is simple to use, and it includes instructions and a mailing form to submit the results.
“Radon, on average, at the breathing level in the United States is at a measurement of 0.4 picocuries per liter,” he said. “15% of the kits that we have issued have come back at or above that EPA action level of 4.0.”
There are also ways to reduce radon levels inside a building.
“Generally speaking, you’re looking at sealing the foundation better and providing ventilation to move that radon from the outside of the foundation to the outside of the home,” Nelson said.
Households can pick up one free radon test kit at the Delta County Public Health Office, located at 2920 College Avenue in Escanaba, or at the Menominee County Public Health Office, located at 909 Tenth Avenue in Menominee. The offices are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Anyone looking for additional information on radon is encouraged to visit epa.gov or michigan.gov/egle.
