What's hiding in your basement?

Radon is a cancer causing radioactive gas. It doesn’t have any odor or taste.  It comes from the natural decay of uranium that is found in nearly all soils. Radon can be found in any building including your home, workplace, daycare, and school. It gets in through cracks, gaps around service pipes, cavities inside walls, gaps between floors, and other holes in the foundation and becomes trapped inside. Your greatest risk of radon exposure is your home because that is where you spend the most time. Any home could have the presence of radon including new and old homes, well-sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements. Radon tends to be a little more prevalent in western New York (because of the type of rock in that region), however here in Clinton County we are still at moderate risk.

The good news is you can find out if you have radon by testing for it. Radon is colorless and odorless

like carbon monoxide. Testing is the only way to tell if you have radon present in your home. By testing for radon, you will know if you have a build up from over time which can

Radon Test Kit

cause lung cancer. 

So why do we care now? Radon builds up in our buildings and homes as we close things up for the winter to keep the heat in. While we’re keeping the heat in we’re also keeping the radon in. Add in less ventilation and you’ve got a recipe for radon. Keeping our windows and cellars sealed tight from November through March makes it prime time to do radon testing. 

Even if you have tested for radon in the past, you should test for radon every five years. Tests take only a few minutes to set up and complete. If you do not want test yourself, The Healthy Neighborhoods Program in Clinton County can help by setting up radon tests for Clinton County residents free of charge.

How can I get a free radon test kit? Contact the Clinton County Healthy Neighborhoods Program at 518-565-4870 to schedule a home visit. Radon is just one area of indoor air quality and home safety that the Healthy Neighborhoods Program addresses. Free radon test kits and other home safety products are available based upon your household’s needs. For more information about this free service, check out our website www.clintonhealth.org/healthyneighborhoods.

 

Maryann Barto

Public Health Educator

Healthy Neighborhoods Program

Environmental Health & Safety Division

Don't Taste the Rainbow

No, we are not talking about Skittles! Our own homes are filled with numerous poisonous items that may look fun, but can be dangerous. It is important to be mindful of how we use and store these products.

Bath bombs, bath fizzies and other household products can sometimes look good enough to eat. With their variety of sizes, shapes and colors they can resemble candy, Kool-Aid or other sweet treats; so it should be no surprise when young children try to take a bite.

Laundry Pods are the latest craze. With their colorful swirls in a thin, squishy pillow small hands find these playful and enticing. In 2021, the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPC) managed 9,548 cases related to laundry detergent pod exposure in Children 5 years and younger - that's almost 800 a month!

To prevent a dangerous event from happening, the AAPC urges parents and caregivers to:

• Save the Poison Help number, 1-800-222-1222, in your phone. You can also text POISON to 797979 to save the number in your phone.
• Practice safe storage habits by keeping these types of items up, away and out of sight of children:
  
• All medicines and pharmaceuticals
• Tobacco and e-cigarette products
• Alcohol
• Laundry and cleaning supplies
• Pesticides and insect repellents
• Batteries
• Any type of oil or lubricant
• Personal care products
• Other chemicals
• Read and follow labels and directions of any potentially hazardous product, especially medicines.
• Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas.
• Practice safe food preparation and handling.

Call the Poison Help Hotline at 1-800-222-1222 immediately if you suspect a child has come in contact with any harmful substance.

If you have questions about the safety of your home you can request a visit from our Healthy Neighborhoods Program. This program is FREE to all Clinton County residents regardless of age or income.

Heather Alden

Public Health Educator

Healthy Neighborhoods Program

Environmental Health and Safety Division

Seconds Count: Home Heating Tips from your Local Fire Departments

Volunteers from the West Chazy Fire Department work on extinguishing a house fire.

The holiday rush is over and we are settling into the New Year, full of resolutions and ambitions. Along with my health related resolutions (come on, we all have them…don’t we?), I am adding a few home safety improvements to my list. After hearing of multiple home fires over the past few weeks I decided to reach out to our local fire departments to answer some of my burning questions (see what I did there?) and get expert advice to share with you. 

I found out that residential fires tend to peak in January according to the U.S. Fire Administration. When asked what causes most of these fires in the North Country our local fire departments overwhelmingly responded with improperly maintained heating systems.  Jason Goodspeed, Volunteer Firefighter with the West Chazy Volunteer Fire Department explains “The chimney and flue’s function is to carry dangerous gasses from your fireplace, woodstove or furnace safely out of your home. When the gases exit the fireplace or wood stove creosote can stick to and build up in your chimney. If the chimney doesn’t get inspected and cleaned each year a buildup of creosote will cause fire combustion inside the chimney which can spread into your home.” Ryan Sponable, Firefighter and Paramedic at the City of Plattsburgh Fire Department says that furnaces should be treated like chimneys – regularly maintained and inspected. 

 Creosote build up.

I have a woodstove at home, to extinguish my fears (sorry, I can't help myself) of a chimney fire, I make sure to schedule a yearly inspection and cleaning with a certified chimney sweep professional. I also have a small space heater that I use occasionally but have heard some scary stories about those so I asked the professionals their thoughts on firing up space heaters. Dereck Fleming, Lieutenant of Cumberland Head Volunteer Fire Department, says that “Space heaters can be useful, but make sure the heater is at least 3 feet away from anything flammable, like curtains or bedding. Make sure they are shut off when leaving the room and that they cannot be easily tipped over. Roughly two thirds of all heating related fires are caused by space heaters.” One big problem that the City of Plattsburgh Fire Department sees is people overloading power strips. Both Ryan and Dan Dumas, Fire Chief at the Mooers Volunteer Fire Department, echo that if you are using a space heater it should be plugged directly into a properly sized outlet, without the use of extension cords or power strips.

Overloaded power strip resulting in an electrical fire.

Just like we focus on prevention here at the Health Department, our local fire departments want you to practice fire prevention at home. The number one way to do this is to have a fire escape plan and practice it! Fire Chief Dumas reminds us that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are proven life savers and should be tested each and every month. Batteries should be replaced 1-2 times each year, or as needed. When I asked where these life saving devices should be installed Firefighter Goodspeed responded “According to the National Fire Protection Association, smoke alarms need to be installed inside each bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement. Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. Remember, seconds count.”  

Another topic of discussion was fire extinguishers. It turns out the most common type of fire extinguisher in homes is a multipurpose extinguisher labeled as ABC but Firefighter Goodspeed reminds us to take into account the type of materials in the immediate area and select the appropriate extinguisher for your needs. Firefighter/Paramedic Sponable said it is recommended to have at least 2 fire extinguishers on the first floor and at least 1 on the second floor. He adds that the kitchen, laundry room and garage tend to be where fire extinguishers are needed the most and that there is a push to start having them located in bedrooms and patios as well. Fire Chief Dumas says “Remember, fires spread very quickly and a call to 911 should always be placed so the fire department can be sure the fire is extinguished and has not spread. When in doubt, get out and call 911!”

The Clinton County Health Department’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program can help keep your home and family fire safe by providing education and safety products. The best news – it’s FREE for anyone in Clinton County. Give us a call to set up a visit: 518-565-4870.

Let’s recap, that was a lot of (awesome) information to digest. Here’s the cliff notes version:  

• Have a fire escape plan and practice it!
• Properly maintain your heating system and schedule regular cleanings and inspections with certified companies. 
• Keep space heaters at least 3 feet from flammable materials, do not leave them unattended and plug them directly into an outlet. Do not use with extension cords or power strips.
• Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are installed in appropriate locations, test them each month and replace batteries at least 1-2 times a year. 
• Taking into account the type of materials in the immediate area, purchase and install appropriate fire extinguishers on every level of your home. Generally, the first floor should have at least 2 extinguishers. 

Some other safety tips generously provided by The City of Plattsburgh Fire Department: 

• NEVER run a generator inside. 
• It is recommended to sleep with your bedroom door shut. This allows extra time to escape and prevents harmful gases and heat from entering your bedroom. 
• Never open a door if the knob is hot to touch. If you are unable to escape put clothing or towels at the bottom of the door to prevent gases and heat from entering. Call 911 and open windos to alert first responders of your location. 
• Always clean lint from your dryer.

Special thanks to:

• Dan Dumas, Fire Chief, Mooers Volunteer Fire Department

• Dereck Fleming, Lieutenant of Cumberland Head Volunteer Fire Department

• Ryan Sponable, Firefighter/Paramedic, City of Plattsburgh Fire Department
• Jason Goodspeed, Firefighter, West Chazy Volunteer Fire Department

Here’s to a happy and safe New Year!

KayLeigh Raville

Public Health Nutritionist

Health Planning and Promotion Division  

Do You Know How to Keep Your Family Safe?

The heating season is upon us! In the North County many homeowners and renters depend on heat from fireplaces, wood stoves and other fossil-fuel heating appliances to keep their family warm during our cold winter months. Unfortunately, each year thousands of families experience costly property damages and injuries due to uncleaned or improperly cleaned heating sources. In fact, in the US there are more than 70,000 house fires annually causing more than $1.3 billion in property damage and over 2,500 injuries. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), chimney fires were the cause in approximately 30 percent of house fires. 

Good news…we are here to help! With the Healthy Neighborhoods Program here at the Clinton County Health Department, we can provide free education and safety products to anyone living in Clinton County. You read that right, FREE!! Over the past year, we have visited over 400 homes in Clinton County and given out countless home safety items to families just like you! 

• Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detector,
• Child safety products (cabinet locks, shock stopper, safety gates), 
• Asthma safety materials (allergen barrier mattress and pillow covers, dust wipes, cleaning supplies) and
• Other safety products like first aid kits, flashlights, nightlights and non-slip bath treads.

Keep Your Home and Family Safe

While enjoying the glow and warmth of your fireplace or wood stove this winter we urge you to keep your family’s safety in mind. As you probably know, your chimney is an important ventilation system that allows smoke, toxins and dangerous fumes to escape your home. A clean chimney means a safer, more efficient fireplace and home heating appliance 

We are all busy and the to-do list is never ending but it is so important to stay on top of chimney cleaning. Each time you have a fire in your wood-stove or fireplace creosote and soot stick to the flue and masonry inside the chimney. When this creosote buildup gets too thick the heat and burning embers from the fire is often all it takes to spark a chimney fire. 

Creosote is a black or brown residue that can be crusty and flaky, tar-like, drippy and sticky or shiny and hardened. All forms are highly combustible and can result in a chimney fire.  

More Efficient Home Heating

We can all agree that we want to be more efficient, especially when it comes to heating our homes. Cleanliness and efficiency go hand in hand with our heating systems. The cleaner your home heating system the more efficient it will be. The creosote buildup that we were just talking about not only poses a potential fire hazard but also decreases the efficiency of your fireplace. This means that you will have to burn more wood or other fossil fuels to stay warm.

Birds, rodents, insects oh my! Did you know that these little buggers can get into and clog your flue, preventing the escape of toxic fumes?! As these toxic fumes buildup it increases your risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, also known as the silent killer. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) reports that there are more than 200 carbon monoxide deaths each year.

During a Healthy Neighborhoods Program visit, we make sure that your home has working carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors. Schedule a visit today 518-565-4870!

Proper Maintenance Pays Off

Budgeting for and scheduling an annual (more frequent cleanings may be needed based upon usage) chimney cleaning and inspection will help: 

• Ward off chimney fires, 
• Decrease your risk for carbon monoxide poisoning, 
• Increase heating efficiency, 
• Reduce the wear and tear and buildup of by-products that can cause costly chimney repairs and 
• Uncover minor masonry problems before they develop into larger, more expensive problems.

Clean chimneys don’t catch fire. Keep your home and family safe by keeping your heating source clean. 

Heather Alden, Public Health Educator
Maryann Barto, Public Health Educator

Environmental Health and Safety Division