Whitewater Times

The Walworth County Division of Public Health is offering $5 radon test kits throughout January—“Radon Action Month”—to anyone who donates a nonperishable food item. 

There is a limit of one kit per person. All food donations will go to the Walworth County Food and Diaper Bank.

Radon is an odorless, radioactive gas that is the nation’s second-leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for roughly 21,000 deaths each year. “In Walworth County, an estimated 6 in 10 homes have elevated radon levels,” says Walworth County Public Health Officer Erica Bergstrom. “Now is a great time to find out if your home is impacted as houses are closed up for the cold winter weather and we’re spending more time indoors.”

Testing is offered locally through the Kenosha/Walworth Radon Information Center, funded through a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Normally, the cost is $10 per kit.

The test kit includes a small vial that must be left open to the air in the lowest livable level of a home — usually the basement — for 48 to 50 hours. The vial is then capped and mailed to Accustar Labs, which provides results in approximately three days via mail, email, or telephone. Shipping and analysis of the kit are included in the $5 price.

Those whose homes test at an elevated level of radon are urged to contact the Kenosha/Walworth Radon Information Center for information about mitigation options.

The January reduced-price test kit offer is redeemable Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Walworth County Health and Human Services building at 1910 County Rd. NN, Elkhorn, WI. 53121.

Original source can be found here.