When you list your New Year resolutions this week, adding a home safety inventory of quick, easy and inexpensive tests could help you prevent silent killers like radon and lead from harming you and your family members.
Conducting some simple tests at home and taking simple steps to address any problems you may find can prevent cancer and other serious health problems.
The health department recommends a home inventory that includes:
Annual water testing, especially if you use a private well for drinking water. City water systems are continually monitored for water safety but it is up to homeowners to monitor their private wells for pollutants like bacteria and nitrates. A bacterial analysis can detect bacteria, including E. coli, an indicator of potential contamination with other serious pathogens such as hepatitis and salmonella. Depending on where you live, testing for pesticides or other factors may also be recommended.
One-time radon testing of the air near your home’s foundation. There are no obvious signs of radon, a colorless and odorless gas. It moves through small spaces in soils and rock and can enter buildings through openings in foundation floors or walls. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, according to the American Lung Association.
Lead testing paint from your home, if it was built before 1978, when many house paints included lead. Lead poisoning is usually caused by months or years of exposure to small amounts of lead in the home, work, or day care environment. Lead poisoning does not always produce symptoms, but it can be easily detected by a simple finger-stick blood test.
Children, older adults, and individuals with a chronic illness are particularly susceptible to environmental hazards however, they are easy to identify and relatively easy to address. Health Department staff can provide consultation for people who find an environmental health problem in their home - we’re always working to protect the public against threats to their health.
The Shiawassee County Health Department will provide free radon test kits for the month of January. The cost of these kits is usually $5. The Environmental Health Division is located in the Surbeck Building (201 N. Shiawassee Street) on the 3rd floor.
For more information regarding water, radon, and lead testing please contact the Shiawassee County Environmental Health Department at 989-743-2390 or visit our website at http://health.shiawassee.net