In observance of Radon Action Month, the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) is offering free radon test kits to residents this January. The kits are only available while supplies last and can be picked up Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the KCHD’s main clinic location at 700 Fuller Avenue NE, Grand Rapids.
Radon is an environmental health hazard that is found in about 17 percent of the homes tested in Kent County. You can’t see, smell, or taste radon, but the radioactive gas can kill. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States claiming the lives of more than 20,000 Americans every year, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.
When using the test kits, residents will hang a filter inside their home for a few days, then send it in a self-addressed, pre-stamped envelope for testing. A video showing how to use the kits can be viewed here. Residents will be sent results and can use the information to decide how best to pursue remediation. KCHD Environmental Health Division will be available at (616) 632-6900 if residents need help interpreting their results.
KCHD recommends that all homes should be tested for radon every few years.
“Even if previous tests did not detect radon in your home, issues like new or widening cracks in the foundation or the house settling can open new pathways for radon,” says Rusty Flewelling, supervising sanitarian, KCHD. “Testing is the only way people can know if radon is reaching into their house.”
The KCHD podcast “A Matter of Public Health” has recorded two episodes about radon. The first episode, discusses what radon is, how prevalent it is in Michigan, and how often you should be testing your home. The second episode episode digs deeper around how to get rid of the radon and what it should typically cost.
