Radon affects YOUR health
What is Radon?
Radon is a radioactive gas produced naturally by the decay of uranium in the ground. It exists all over the world, although the amount of uranium and level of radon gas vary significantly, even from one house to the next. Radon is invisible, you can’t see it, smell or taste it and it can get into your home undetected.
The current Canadian Guideline for radon is 200 becquerels per cubic meter (Bq/m3). Becquerels per cubic meter is the unit of measurement for radon, the higher the number the greater the risk. Protecting your family’s health from the risk of radon exposure starts with learning more.
Radon in your home?
Radon can be found in almost all homes in Canada, new or old. Radon can get into a home wherever it touches the ground. Radon tends to accumulate in the lower levels of the home, like the basement for example, where it can reach high concentrations.
The gas can seep into the house in a variety of places:
- foundation wall cracks;
- between floor tiles;
- packed earth floors;
- construction seams;
- gaps around pipes and support posts;
- crawl spaces, drains and sump holes.
The only way to know if you have a radon problem in your home is to measure its concentration.
Its health impact
The only known risk from long-term exposure is the development of lung cancer.
Radon is the 2nd leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. The level of risk depends on the concentration of radon as well as the number of years of exposure. It is estimated that 10% of all lung-cancer-related deaths in New Brunswick are linked to radon exposure.
Smokers run a much greater risk than non-smokers (including second-hand smoke). In fact, individuals who are exposed to both tobacco smoke and high levels of radon over an extended period of time are much more likely to develop lung cancer. The effect is more than the two risks added together. For example, if you have never smoked but are exposed to a high level of radon your lifetime lung cancer risk is one in twenty. If you are a smoker but are not exposed to radon your risk of getting lung cancer is one in eight. If you are a smoker and are exposed to a high level of radon, your risk becomes one in three.
Approximately 10% of all radon-related lung cancer deaths occur among non-smokers.
Smokers are not the only ones at risk. Approximately 10% of all radon-related lung cancer deaths occur among non-smokers
Protect your family, measure radon levels in your home
The only way to know if you have a radon problem in your home is to measure its levels. The marketplace offers a number of measuring devices and services. Testing is safe, simple and relatively inexpensive. Some radon detectors allow you to measure radon concentrations over short periods while others do so over several months.
Health Canada recommends measuring radon in your home for at least three (3) months, ideally in the fall and winter timeframe. The test must be performed in the lowest lived in level of your home, by that we mean the lowest level of your home where you spend than four (4) hours a day.
If the radon test results are above the Canadian Guideline of 200 becquerels per cubic meter (200Bq/m3), corrective measures can and should be taken.
For your convenience, the New Brunswick Lung Association is offering radon test kits at the below-market price of $35 while quantities last. Call 1-800-565-LUNG to order your radon test kit today!
Bear in mind that you should not rely on neighbourhood or next-door results, as these may vary significantly from one home to the next
What can you do to reduce radon levels in your home?
There are many ways to reduce the radon level in a home and in most cases these measures are simple and relatively inexpensive. For example:
- seal all cracks and holes in the foundation walls and floors, and gaps around pipes and drains;
- Increase the mechanical ventilation, via a heat recovery ventilator (HRV), to allow an exchange of air;
- Renovate existing basement floors, particularly earth floors;
- Depressurize the gases under the concrete slab by installing small pumps that will suck out and exhaust the radon outside.
The most common method is active soil depressurization (ASD), typically performed by a contractor. As each house is unique, a qualified or certified contractor can assess your home and recommend one or several mitigation techniques.
The work should be done by an experienced contractor who has received proper training from a certified organization. Expect the work to cost anywhere from $800 to $2,500.
For new homes
When a new home is being built, it is generally impossible to predict the levels of radon it will contain. It is therefore simpler and less expensive to adopt preventive measures during construction than to take steps later on. For example, to reduce radon infiltration routes, you can:
- use highly resistant concrete;
- add plasticizer to the concrete;
- install a polyethylene membrane under the concrete;
- install a balanced ventilation system;
- install a pipe that runs across the concrete slab, to hook up a depressurization system if necessary.
- Many of these radon resistant new construction methods are being added to the 2010 National Building codes.
Other corrective and preventive measures are featured in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s brochure “Radon – A Guide for Canadian Homeowners”.
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