East Shore District Health Offering Residents Free Radon Test Kits

BRANFORD, CT — As January is National Radon Action Month, the East Shore District Health Department is offering free Radon Air Test Kits to residents of Branford, East Haven, and North Branford during the month of January. The free kits are limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

The kits will be distributed at the health district office at 688 East Main St., Branford 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The kits, provided by the state Department of Public Health Radon Program, are one per household.

For more information, please call ESDHD at (203) 481-4233 if you have any questions.

What you need to know about radon:

• The CDC estimates that about 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. can be attributed to radon.
• Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.
• Radon is a radioactive gas that can be found all over the U.S.
• It can seep into any type of building - brick or frame, new or old, basement or no basement, crawl space or slab on grade.
• Southern Connecticut is one of the high-radon areas of the U.S. designated by the EPA.
• Many people ignore the warnings about radon gas. Maybe because radon has no color, taste, or odor people don’t think about it.