home safety - UNCAS Health District

January is officially recognized as Radon Action Month by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). This annual designation highlights the importance of addressing radon—a silent and invisible threat — in our homes and communities. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, following smoking, and it is the primary cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.

Uncas Health District is helping residents take proactive steps for their health. Throughout January 2025, the district will provide 50 free radon test kits on a first-come, first-serve basis. These kits are available exclusively to residents of Bozrah, Franklin, Griswold, Lebanon, Lisbon, Montville, Norwich, Preston, Salem, Sprague, and Voluntown.

How to Get Your Free Radon Test Kit

Pick-Up Location: Uncas Health District Office, located at the Uncas on Thames Campus, 401 West Thames Street, Norwich, Conn.
Eligibility: Test kits are only available to residents of the towns listed above.
Requirements: Residents must provide their contact information and the location where the test will be conducted for follow-up purposes.
Availability: Supplies are limited, so plan to visit early in January to secure your kit.

Testing your home for radon is a simple yet vital step in protecting your family’s health. If elevated radon levels are detected, mitigation measures can significantly reduce exposure.

Why Radon Testing Matters

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can seep into homes through cracks in foundations, walls, or floors. While it is odorless and invisible, radon can accumulate to dangerous levels indoors, posing a significant health risk over time. Regular testing is the only way to detect its presence and ensure your living environment is safe.

Learn More About Radon

For additional information and resources about radon and how to protect your home, explore these links:

As the holiday season approaches, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges consumers to put safety at the top of the list while cooking, decorating, and toy buying. In addition, CPSC reminds families to take precautions, whether shopping online or in-person, to keep family and friends safe from common holiday-related hazards. CPSC’s latest Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries report reveals that in 2023, an estimated 154,700 children 12 years or younger were treated in emergency rooms due to toy-related injuries, and 10 children died in toy-related incidents.

Other key findings from the report include:

Toy-related ER-treated injuries from 2016 to 2023

Decreased by nearly 5% for children under 15 from 175,600 to 167,500
Decreased by nearly 8% for children under 13 from 167,800 to 154,700

Non-motorized scooters

Accounted for the largest share of injuries in 2023 (53,000) across all age groups
Are involved in more than one in every five toy-related injuries for children under 15

Toy-Related Deaths

The majority of toy-related death were related to:

Choking on small balls or crayons
Drownings linked to flotation toys
Entrapment inside a toy chest
Ingestion of water beads

Injury diagnoses

Lacerations were the most common toy-related injury for all ages
Contusions/abrasions and fractures were the second and third most common for all ages
Contusions/abrasions and internal injuries were the second and third most common diagnoses for children under 15 years old
Ingestion and internal injuries were the second and third most common diagnoses for children under 5 years old

“From online shopping to in-person gatherings, safety and protecting our children should be a top priority this holiday season,” said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. “By being mindful of product hazards, checking for recalls and purchasing from reputable sources, you can protect your loved ones and ensure a joyous and accident-free holiday for all.”

CPSC is highlighting the following additional safety tips for safe and happy holiday activities including toy-buying, cooking and decorating.

Dangerous or Illegal Toys

CPSC, in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), seized nearly 1.6 million dangerous or illegal toys in fiscal year 2024. Of those, nearly 101,900 toy seizures were related to lead content.

Wrap your holiday with a protective bow with these giving gift safety tips:

Follow age guidance and other safety information on toy packaging and choose toys that match each child’s interests and abilities.
Get safety gear, including helmets, for scooters and other riding toys–and make sure that children use them every time.
Keep small balls and toys with small parts away from children younger than age 3 and keep deflated balloons away from children younger than age 8.
Once the gifts are open, immediately discard plastic wrappings or other packaging on toys before they become dangerous playthings.

Holiday Cooking

The largest share of the 352,400 annual residential fires are cooking related (45%), according to CPSC’s report on Residential Fire and Loss Estimates. Cooking fires spike on Thanksgiving Day with an average of 1,400 cooking fires – more than three times the daily average of cooking fires. CPSC data also shows that Black Americans have the highest rate of deaths from fire, nearly twice the overall rate across the population.

Prep holiday cooking with these tips for a safe and fire-free holiday season:

Never leave cooking food unattended on the stove or in the oven.
Only fry a turkey outside and away from your home or other flammable materials. Never use turkey fryers in an enclosed area like the garage or on the porch.

Holiday Decorations

There are about 160 Christmas decorating-related injuries each day during the holiday season, with nearly half of the injuries involving falls. In the 2023 holiday season (Nov. 1, 2022 – Jan. 31, 2023), about 14,900 people were treated in emergency rooms due to holiday decorating-related injuries.

Keep holiday decorating safe, festive, and bright with these helpful tips:

Water your live Christmas tree and look for the “Fire Resistant” label when buying an artificial tree.
Never leave candles unattended. Keep burning candles in sight, away from flammable items and put them out before leaving the room. Use flameless candles whenever possible.
Never string together more than three sets of incandescent lights and never overload electrical outlets.

Online Toy Shopping

Know your seller. Purchase toys from stores and online retailers you know and trust.
When purchasing toys and games online that contain small parts, balls, marbles and balloons, look for a choking hazard warning statement on the firm’s advertising page about these products.

Visit CPSC’s Holiday Safety Information Center for more holiday safety tips, as well as a sharable Holiday Safety video, poster and b-roll that show the serious risks posed by using a turkey fryer too close to the home, a dry Christmas tree, and burning candles near flammable items.

Individual Commissioners may have statements related to this topic. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/commissioners to search for statements related to this or other topics.

Learn More About Lead Testing for Children

Uncas Health District Offering Free Radon Test Kits