June is Home Safety Month
Make Your Home Safer: Test for Radon
The Home Safety Council®, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, has declared June “Home Safety Month” and is reminding people to take steps to make their homes safer. The organization, which states that it is “dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year.” According to the Council, the top five leading causes of unintentional home injury death are falls, poisoning, fire/burn, choking/suffocation, and drowning.
Another major danger in the home – one that causes serious injury in lung cells, is radon, which silently hides in your living space, killing about 21,000 Americans each year. Although radon is a cancer-causing environmental hazard and not traditionally considered an injury, radon-related deaths can be avoided, and should be considered when assessing your home for safety.
Observe Home Safety Month by installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and safety devices to protect your children, and take other recommended measures to make yourself and your family safer in your home. And don’t forget to test for radon, the number one cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, the second leading cause of lung cancer overall, and the cause of as many, if not more, home-related deaths than any other single, avoidable cause, including unintentional injuries.
