During their January meeting, Wright Co. Health Promotion Coordinator Gavin Woodland presented information on radon awareness to the Clearwater Twp. Board. 

Radon is a colorless and odorless gas found in soil and is common throughout Minnesota. Because soil is porous, radon moves up from the soil and into homes; Wright Co., including Clearwater Twp., has high levels of the dangerous gas.

Radon can accumulate in the air in homes and become a health concern. It decays into fine radioactive particles that, when inhaled, can damage the lungs. Exposure over a long period of time can lead to lung cancer. 

Minnesota has high levels of radon throughout the state, with the average level being more than three times higher than the U.S. radon level. In Minnesota, more than two in five homes have levels that pose a significant health risk.

Woodland stated that the Minnesota Department of Health recommends all Minnesotans test their home for radon. It can be done by the homeowner with a short-term test that can be ordered at MN.Radon.com. Wright Co. sells the test kits for the discounted price of five dollars. They can be picked up at the front desk of Health and Human Services in Buffalo. A test can also be ordered at MN.Radon.com for $12.95. 

Other Business

Recycling will now be picked up on Thursdays instead of Fridays and is still the second and fourth weeks of each month. Recycling and garbage cans must be set three feet back from the road.

The annual township newsletter is being worked on and will be sent to residents in February. 

Cleanup Day will be held on May 20.

Residents are asked to note that township meetings will now be held at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. All dates can be found on the township’s website at ClearwaterTownship.org.

The next Clearwater Twp. Meeting will be February 8 at 7 p.m.