Town’s radon sample results has CBS mayor advising residents to get their homes tested

By Craig Westcott

Nobody is sure why, but Conception Bay South seems to have a higher-than-average number of homes testing positive for higher than acceptable levels of radon.

Mayor Darrin Bent, who is encouraging residents to test the levels in their homes, cautions the figure of more than 30 per cent of homes with higher than safe levels of the colourless and odourless gas came from a test last fall that sampled only 111 houses.

But it’s still a concern, given the average number of homes that test positive across Canada is about seven per cent, according to the federal government.

“What happened was, the Town last fall got involved with Take Action on Radon, which is an agency under the federal government’s Health Department,” Bent said, explaining how council twigged to the issue. “Their sole purpose is to raise awareness and to encourage people to test for radon in their homes. And through that project, we were able to provide 100 test kits for residents of CBS free of charge if they wanted to sign up and use them. The test kits went out, and they weren’t all submitted for testing – maybe some people got them and didn’t use them – but of all the ones that were sent out, about 110 came back for generalized testing and 30 per cent of them were above the acceptable level set by Health Canada.”

Health Canada sets the safe level as below 200 becquerels per cubic metre.

“So that was a concern for us, of course,” Bent said. “We wanted to make sure the residents of Conception Bay South were aware of this and that they were proactive to get their homes tested. Of course, the testing of one home means nothing to the home next door. These are particular to different homes. So, I could have a high reading on my house, and the house next door could have a perfectly normal reading. There’s no way of telling unless you actually test.”

Bent said there doesn’t seem to be any particular areas of CBS that has higher ratings.

“This thing is linked to uranium,” Bent said. “It breaks down in the soil and is released, and high counts of uranium lead to elevated levels of radon. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s getting in your house either. You can’t tell what’s in your house until you actually test your house.”

Bent said you can buy test kits at Home Hardware, Kent, or any hardware store, or order them online through Take Action on Radon. Council is hoping the agency will offer a similar testing program for CBS this fall so that some residents can order a kit through the Town.

“We’re trying to be as proactive as possible,” said Bent. “We’re not sure if they’re going to offer that again this year, but if they do, we’ll take advantage of that for our residents.”

Bent said the fall is the best time of year to test, because people usually keep their windows and doors closed as the weather gets colder, which means any radon in the home will accumulate and show up in the test results. 

“November is also Radon Awareness Month, so we’re hoping lots of people throughout the town get tested,” Bent said. “And we’re encouraging residents throughout the province to get tested and to make sure that their homes are within the safe limits set by Health Canada.”

Bent noted one in six lung cancer deaths are linked to radon, and it is the second highest cause of lung cancer next to smoking.

If your home does have a higher than safe level of radon, he added, the cost of taking mitigative measures is usually between $2,000 and $4,000. “And once you’ve done it, you’ve done it,” he said. “It’s not a continuous worry. It’s a venting system that’s installed.”

There may also be funding available through the federal government to help pay for the work, depending on your income, Bent said.

“It’s a big concern from the perspective of health and safety,” said the mayor. “It needs more awareness; it needs more exposure for people to get (their homes) tested. So, when we saw these results, we said we’re going to take proactive action.”

Bent pointed out that homes built since 2017 should be either already equipped with the measures to prevent radon seeping in, or at least built to more easily accommodate such measures, because of changes that were made in the National Building Code.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being vented, but you’re set up to be vented. In other words, to mitigate your situation should be just a matter of installing the vent,” Bent said. 

The Town has already made a presentation to housing developers in CBS about radon and how to mitigate it, Bent said.

Another thing people should consider, said the mayor, is that Health Canada may well reduce even further the level of radon that it considers safe. “There is talk that the acceptable level is going to be lowered,” he said. “The acceptable level is 200 becquerels now. They may determine in the future that 150 or 100 may be the level. So, if you’ve got a home that’s close to 200, even if you’re not over, you might want to consider taking some action.”