TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO TEST FOR RADON
Colourless, odourless, tasteless gas can seep into your home through foundation, wells
November is international lung cancer awareness month and national radon action month across Canada. It's when I like to take some time to remind everybody about the steps we need to take to protect ourselves at home from this harmful — potentially deadly — gas.
When the uranium in our soil and rocks breaks down, radon gas is formed. If this occurs outdoors, the radon gas will dissipate harmlessly. But when that process takes place inside our homes, the radon can build up to dangerous levels and cause lung cancer.
Radon-induced lung cancer is the second-leading cause of lung cancer — second only to smoking. And if you're a smoker, you become even more vulnerable. It's important to take this seriously, because it can do some real damage.
How do you know if your home has dangerous levels of radon gas? You test for it.
WHY DO WE TEST FOR RADON?
You might not think it, but it's been said on average that we spend about 90 per cent of our time indoors. And of course, this year, most of that time spent indoors is centralized in our own homes. That's a significant time spent potentially breathing in pollutants like mould, mildew and, yes, radon. Radon is colourless and odourless, so you can't see, smell or taste it. If you don't test, you can't know what kind of levels are in your home. Radon gas concentrations can vary wildly in your neighbourhood. Even if your neighbour has low levels, you may not be so lucky.
So to me, it makes sense to take the time to test your home for radon. You can order a test kit online, and send it off to a lab for results. They'll tell you if your radon concentration is at a concerning level and if you should take steps to mitigate it.
In Canada, radon is measured in becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3). If your radon levels test above 200 Bq/m3, you'll want to take steps to mitigate radon in your home. But even if you test below that, it's not a bad idea to mitigate radon in your home. Better safe than sorry.
ENTRY POINTS FOR RADON
There are a few ways radon may sneak into your home. Radon can enter through the home any place it comes into contact with the ground. This could be through the sump pump, cracks in the foundation, window casements and more. Even if the home is well-sealed, radon can find a way in. It's tricky like that. Because our homes tend to be better insulated and have fewer air exchanges to reduce energy consumption, the gas will concentrate and does not escape.
If your home uses well water, that's another potential entry point. When you turn on your taps and showers, the soluble radon in the water gets aerated and off-gases into the home for you to inhale, as well as ingest. If you use a groundwater well at home, include that in your testing plan.
MITIGATING RADON
Your best bet for stopping radon is keeping it out of the home in the first place. You can install a mitigation system in your well water that will aerate the water, stripping the harmful radon out of the water before it enters your home.
For new-construction homes, there are sub-slab ventilation and membrane products you can install underneath your slab that are designed to keep the gas from migrating through the slab and into your home.
For your current home, the best option is using your pre-existing heat recovery ventilator (HRV). There are devices on the market that you can attach to your HRV that can detect if your home experiences a spike of radon gas. It will cause the HRV to kick in, triggering an air change in your home, bringing in fresh, treated air and cycling the radon-infused air harmlessly outdoors.
Typically, it doesn't cost much to mitigate the effects of radon in a home. Generally, you'll be paying between $1,500 to $3,000. It doesn't cost much money — and it's a smart way to spend your renovation dollars if your home tests positive for high levels of radon.