You can’t see it, you can’t smell it and you can’t taste it—and it’s the No. 1 cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that comes from the earth. It’s not a problem when it’s released into the air, but it’s dangerous when trapped inside our homes.
Last winter, 110 homes in Conception Bay South were tested for radon gas, and 30 per cent of them had levels above Health Canada guidelines.
“It was a bit of a surprise, maybe because we didn’t know much about it,” said Deputy Mayor Andrea Goss. “But since then we’ve become more educated and we want our community to be more educated.”
Now municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador — including CBS and Mount Pearl — will participate in November in what’s known as Radon Action Month.
Municipalities are encouraging residents to test their homes for radon, and are providing free test kits through the Health Canada-funded Take Action on Radon campaign.
The test is a small device that you place in your home, on the lowest habitable surface. After 91 days, you put in an envelope and send it to the lab for testing.
“Simple. It’s like it’s like an ant trap,” Goss said. “Nothing to do, nothing to monitor. I even forgot it was in the house until I got my email and said, oh, I’ve got to put this together and send it off. “
Goss said there’s no reason not to find out if you have radon in your home.
“It’s an active initiative and it’s very easy … I would suggest, you know, residents participate.”
Some test kits are not suitable.
Conception Bay South has more test kits on the way, and Mount Pearl distributed all 400 of its kits within hours of their announcement.
Consumers can buy their own tests in stores, but not all are recommended by local experts.
For example, CBC went to a Home Depot store to see what radon test kits were available, and found ProLab’s Long-Term Radon Gas Test Kit.
However, Pam Warkentin, executive director of Take Action on Radon, says the test is not on the list of providers for the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program. It said customer feedback showed it did not accurately report radon levels. The test kit’s lab is also in the US, which he said has created problems with timely testing.
Warkentin said users should refer to the device list. Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program website before purchasing the test kit.
“So we really want to caution people to make sure that when they buy them, they check our list to buy something that works,” Warkenten said.
To purchase a radon test kit, the Take Action on Radon website lists Transfer Radon, the only certified company in NL.
They sell the recommended Radtrak³ Alpha Track long-term test, and other short-term and digital tests.
“Health Canada recommends that anything over 200 Bq/m³ be reduced within two years,” said Katie Thorne, co-owner of Transfer Radon.
“It can happen anywhere. So you don’t really know if your neighbor might have it, or you… the only way to know is to get tested.”
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