The Kent County Health Department continues to offer free radon test kits to residents.
They call it a silent killer: lung cancer caused by radon gas.
“Because it doesn’t get a lot of media attention, we’ve been calling it the silent-silent killer because you don’t know that it’s coming in your home. But it doesn’t get a lot of attention. We think we can make some in roads on this, by getting people to test their homes.”
The Kent County Health department wants residents to know they can and should still pick up radon test kits from their local office on Fuller Avenue. Steve Kelso is the Marketing and Communications Manager at the Health Department.
“Come grab a kit, take it home and you can determine within a matter of weeks if there’s radon in your home.”
The Health Department recommends that all homes should be tested for radon every few years. Testing is the only way to know if radon is present in your home. And Kelso says it can be deadly.
“Because, radon, we now know, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and amongst non-smokers, it is the first, leading cause of lung cancer; killing more people we think last year than drunk driving and drowning combined. Which is an amazing number.”
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control says more than 20 thousand deaths are caused by radon each year. People who used the test kits will get their results via email once the kit is received and tested. Kelso says if you need more information, you can go to accesskent.com/health
