This is Radon Action Month, and the Berrien County Health Department is spreading awareness about the gas and the dangers it can pose.
Department environmental health services manager Nick Margaritis tells us radon is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally and leaks up from the ground. When exposed, it can cause health problems.
“It can cause lung cancer,” Margaritis said. “It’s the second leading cause, after smoking in the U.S.”
The gas has no color, taste, or odor. The only way to watch out for it is to test for it. Margaritis says that’s why the health department is giving out radon testing kits this month.
These kits don’t work the same way as a smoke or carbon monoxide detector.
“It comes in an envelop, you open it up, you let it sit in the home for up to seven days, and then you send it in to a company for an analysis.”
Margaritis says if radon is found in a home, work can be done to basements or foundations to mitigate it.
The Berrien County Health Department normally sells radon kits for $10, but for this month, they’re free. Anyone can stop by a health department office in Benton Harbor or Niles to pick one up.
