Health Canada is encouraging Canadians to take the time to test their home for radon.
Radon is a radioactive gas produced by the breakdown of uranium in the ground. It can easily enter homes undetected through cracks and gaps in the floors, walls, windows and doors. It can’t be seen, smelled or tasted.
Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, leading to the deaths of over 3,200 Canadians each year. Every region in Canada has homes with elevated radon, and many Canadians are unaware of the risks that radon can pose to their health.
It’s not a question of if there is radon in respective houses, the only question is how much.
“Unfortunately, you cannot detect it with the human senses, therefore the only way you will know how much radon is in the air you’re breathing is to measure it with a radon test kit,” said Health Canada Manitoba/Saskatchewan regional radiation specialist Sandy Hutchison.
“And given the risk of lung cancer and this is a preventable risk, we encourage all Canadians to test their home and find out where they stand and take steps to reduce that.”
Hutchison said the average radon testing kit costs $65 and that will include the detector itself, the instructions, laboratory analysis and report and the postage is prepaid to send it to the lab.
“It’s recommended that you measure for a three month period to get a good average reading which will be more representative of your health risk,” said Hutchison.
Radon is natural occurring, coming from soil and rock and is fairly mobile since it’s in a gas state. The preferred season to test the home for radon is in the winter months because that is when people are heating their homes and keeping them closed.
“Hot air is going to rise to the top, which means that air has to come in and replace it. In fact, it gets pulled in from the bottom of your home, which is the part that is in contact with the soil,” Hutchison said.
The best place to test a home for radon, according to Hutchison, is a space where people spend at least four hours a day in.
Since radon is a soil gas, the misconception is to test for it in the basement near the furnace room or a sump pit, but people need to test the air where they are breathing it in the most.
“If you do have somebody sleeping or spending time in a rec room and somebody is spending more than four hours per day there on a consistent basis, absolutely, test in the basement. But otherwise it’s okay to test on the main level, if that’s where people are sleeping or spending their time,” said Hutchison.
When there is a high level of radon in the home, Hutchison said there is an estimated five per cent lifetime risk of getting lung cancer for someone who has never been a smoker, however, a person who is a smoker or had a history of smoking has a 30 per cent lifetime risk of getting lung cancer.
The best way to get rid of the high level of radon is through depressurization, which consists of using a fan that is going to be able to draw soil gas from beneath the home through a closed system and exhausted outside.
“You’re going straight to the source and you’re providing this preferred pathway for the soil to escape to the atmosphere,” said Hutchison.
A home consisting of low radon levels reduces the risk for someone getting lung cancer, as that five percent probability goes down to one percent and that 30 per cent risk goes all the way down to 12 per cent.
The acceptable Canadian standard for radon levels is no higher than 200 Bq/m3.
Health Canada had conducted a national residential radon survey, and the data recorded from that survey is lumped by postal code regions of each province.
In the S0K postal code region (Warman area), there were 77 tests done and out of those tests, only seven (nine percent) came back with levels over 200Bq/m3.
However there was one test that recorded radon levels of 755 Bq/m3. So even though there were low cases of radon there is still a chance there could be high levels, which is why it’s important to get the home tested.
If test results come back low for radon, Hutchison said there is no official guidance on retesting, unless a home has undergone a major structural a change or a heating, ventilation system change.
“If you do test high and have fixed the problem we do encourage you to retest every two years,” he said.
The best way to purchase approved test kits sold in Canada is at takeactiononradon.ca or people can also contact the Lung Association of Saskatchewan.