Free radon testing kits available

As an acknowledgment of January being Radon Action Month, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is offering free testing kits to its residents.

Kits are available at each county office and agency officials are encouraging residents to test their homes for this environmental hazard.

Radon gas in the outdoor atmosphere is not harmful to people. But when radon gas gets trapped in homes and without the ability to escape through open windows and doors, the contact over time may lead to lung cancer.

According to the Surgeon General, it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and the leading cause among non-smokers.

Radon testing kits are available for St. Joseph County residents at the agency’s Hill Street location in Three Rivers.