Breathe easier
Homebuilder adopts new technology to vent dangerous radon gas from homes
An Alberta homebuilder is taking additional steps to protect homeowners from radon gas.
Invisible, odourless, tasteless and radioactive, radon gas comes from uranium in the ground and can get into your home undetected.
“A few years ago a national building code change was introduced because of the negative health issues related to radon poisoning,” said Sandra Young, vice-president of Pacesetter Homes Edmonton.
“The mitigation system required by the building code performed less than optimally because of the restricted airflow through the substrate under the basement slabs.”
In essence, Young explains, the rock under the concrete basement floor creates resistance so it's challenging to move enough air to effectively remove the radon gas, which is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
“At Pacesetter we are always innovating and looking for ways to improve our homes, so when we saw the Cupolex technology being used in commercial applications and it's effectiveness at removing radon gas, we knew it was a much superior system and that we wanted to do the right thing and bring it to the residential market.”
As of July 2020, all new Pacesetter Homes have included the new Cupolex system. Young said Pacesetter is the first residential builder in Alberta to provide a superior radon-mitigation system.
Traditional radon-mitigation systems, which use fans to pull air from soil and exhaust it outside buildings, have been around for decades, said William J. Cannizzaro, president and CEO of Pontarolo Engineering Inc., of which Cupolex is a division.
“Cupolex aerated floors are the modern systems that use open space rather than soil to vent the slab, resulting in highly efficient transmission of vacuum and air flow,” said Cannizzaro.
“As a result, homeowners or regulators can be sure that a vacuum is present anywhere below the building and that radon concentration below the slab will be far lower than with traditional systems.”