February 1st - 2007

Health Canada plans stricter radon guidelines

Mandatory testing for radon gas in private homes may become a condition of sale if Health Canada adopts recommendations for stricter radon guidelines.

Mandatory testing for radon gas in private homes may become a condition of sale if Health Canada adopts recommendations for stricter radon guidelines.
 
Routine testing is just one of the suggestions in a report prepared for Health Canada by the Radon Working Group on acceptable levels of radon in Canadian homes. The report notes that as people make their homes tighter and more energy efficient, they may also be inadvertently raising radon levels. Along with recommending higher standards, the group is also suggesting the government should consider a system of grants and subsidies to help homeowners with the costs of testing and cleaning up of radon gas.
 
Radon is an odourless radioactive gas that occurs naturally in the environment and is caused by the natural breakdown of uranium in soils and rocks. Radon can seep into a house through dirt floors, cracks in concrete walls and floors, sumps, basement drains, and through concrete block walls. In the open air it does not pose a health risk, but in an enclosed space such as a mine or a basement, breathing in radon decay products can lead to lung cancer. The Health Canada report estimates that lung cancers from radon exposure account for about 10 per cent of all lung cancers, second only behind smoking.
 
Radon gas levels are measured in a unit called the becquerel (Bq). One becquerel is an extremely small unit, described as one event of radiation emission per second.
 
Prior to the review, the radon levels considered safe in Canada – 800 Bq – were almost five times higher than in the rest of the world. Now Health Canada is recommending the level considered safe be reduced to 200 Bq – the same level that’s considered safe in the United States.
 
Concern in Canada about indoor radon levels began in the mid-1970’s when some homes in communities where uranium ore was either mined or processed were found to have elevated radon concentrations. After this discovery, Health Canada surveyed the radon levels in 14,000 homes in 18 cities across Canada. The majority of homes surveyed showed low concentrations of radon. “Certain areas in Ontario including Elliot Lake and Kirkland Lake contain higher concentrations of radon than others,” says Andrew Dixon, Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) President. “Pockets have also been found in Kitchener-Waterloo, Port Hope, Scarborough and other parts of the province.”
 
While Dixon says home inspectors are not required to examine for radon, some inspectors with radon inspection experience may offer it as an added service for an additional cost. “However, if I am conducting a home inspection and notice a crack or a bulge in the wall, I will recommend the homeowner have the problem investigated by a qualified professional.”
 
With the recommendations scheduled to be adopted early this year by Health Canada, Dixon says REALTORS® and home inspectors may be asking sellers to get their houses tested for radon in the near future and, if there is a problem, recommending remedial action. "What both REALTORS® and home inspectors need is a map of the hot spots in Ontario so as best to help our clients," says Dixon.
 
Reducing radon levels
The good news is testing for radon and carrying out the necessary repairs is not overly expensive. According to the Health Canada report, the average cost is about $50-$100 per test and the average mitigation cost would be about $1,200 - $1,500 per house. A bulletin on Health Canada’s Web site states: “Radon levels can usually be significantly reduced by renovating existing basement floors, particularly earth floors, sealing cracks and openings in walls and floors, and around pipes and drains, and ventilating the sub-floor of basement floors.”
 
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) publication called, Radon: A Guide for Canadian Homeowners, produced jointly by CMHC and Health Canada, describes the most popular radon detectors as “the charcoal canister, the electrets and the alpha track detector. These devices are exposed to the air in a home for a specified period of time, and then sent to a laboratory for analysis. There are other techniques for testing radon levels, but they require a trained operator and are more expensive.”
 
To view or download the publication, visit http://www.cmhc.ca/, or visit the Health Canada Web site at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/.
 

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