The Importance of Getting Your Home Tested for Radon
What is Radon?
Radon is a radioactive gas that is undetectable by human senses. It has no color, no smell and no taste.
Radon is released into the air we breathe as part of a natural and constant radioactive decay process that occurs when uranium breaks down in the ground beneath our homes. Uranium and its decay elements are found throughout Canadian rock and soil (Health Canada has created a helpful radon risk map based on a long-term study of our geology).
Radon gas dilutes to non-hazardous levels when it mixes with outside air, but when it leaves the ground and enters the home, the gas can concentrate and quickly lead to high radon levels. If not mitigated, these high radon levels can eventually cause lung cancer.
Radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers today.
The risk of radon-induced lung cancer increases with radon level and exposure time. Radon is up to 10x more harmful to the smaller, developing lungs of children and small pets as compared with larger, fully developed adult lungs.
Radon levels indoors are influenced by several factors including geology, home design, construction materials and ventilation methods.
The only way to know if your home contains hazardous levels of radon gas is to test for it, and yet most homes in Canada have not yet been tested.
Radon levels vary from ho
me to home. It is very common that a home with safe radon levels sits right next door to a home with hazardous radon levels, even if both houses were built at the same time with the same construction materials and standards. In a recent study carried out by the City of Hamilton, 1 in 7 homes were found to have hazardous radon levels.
Health Canada recommends taking remedial action to mitigate for radon when long-term test results are greater than 200 Bq/m3 but there is abundant third party research available today indicating that indoor radon levels should be kept below 100 Bq/m3.
How is Radon Detected and Mitigated?
The Canadian Cancer Society and Health Canada have both recommended that families test their homes for radon every two years using a Health Canada approved long-term radon test kit. An increasingly popular method of tracking radon levels in the home today is the continuous radon monitor, widely available through major retail stores. Many of these continuous monitors will log radon measurements for downloading as a monthly or annual report and will alarm upon detection of high radon levels.
Radon mitigation specialists certified and insured by the Canadian National Proficiency Program (C- NRPP) like Canada Radon provide can offer a complete range of technical services to safely, quickly and accurately detect and mitigate radon levels in indoor spaces.
Systems installed by Canada Radon are highly effective at reducing radon concentration to safe levels, and keeping them there. Most often, homes mitigated by Canada Radon will maintain radon levels below 100 Bq/m3, well below the Health Canada guideline of 200 Bq/m3.
Ready to get your home tested?
Getting ready to begin a basement renovation or home expansion project? Opening the cottage soon? Buying a new home? Now is the perfect time to measure radon levels and ‘know your number’!
Having a certified and insured professional by your side can make this process smooth and stress-free.
Click here to book a consultation now!