Members of Merritt’s Air Quality Committee have started testing their homes for levels of a radioactive gas the BC Lung Association says is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind smoking.
It’s called radon, and it’s an odourless, colourless and tasteless gas that occurs naturally in the ground when uranium in rocks and soil decays.
When released into the air, this gas dissipates and is harmless.
However, when it seeps into enclosed areas such as basements, it can accumulate to a high level and become a health risk.
Exposure to high levels of radon in enclosed areas can increase one’s risk of developing lung cancer.
From November through February, members of the committee will use radon test kits to test their homes for any levels of radon, committee member Richie Gage said.
Gage said radon gas usually appears in its highest levels in the winter months.
Radon enters a house because the air pressure inside is usually lower than the air pressure in the soil surrounding its foundation. The difference in air pressure draws gases such as radon into a home from the surrounding soil. Radon can seep in through openings such as small cracks in floor slabs and foundation walls, and around pipes, drains and wall cavities.
The Canadian guideline for indoor radon exposure is 200 becquerels per cubic metre, while the World Health Organization recommends a level of no more than 100 becquerels per cubic metre. In the U.S., the action level on radon is 148 becquerels per cubic metre.
Radon is found across Canada, particularly where uranium levels are high, according to the BC Lung Association. Levels of radon also vary from one building to the next.
Air quality committee member and Interior Health environmental health specialist Greg Baytalan said everyone in the B.C. Interior should have their house, basement suite, townhouse or workplace checked for radon levels.
Baytalan also said dirt crawl spaces are prime sites for radon to enter a home.
He told the Herald radon is a global issue, with some areas being more prone to it than others.
“Radon doesn’t know borders,” he said.
Baytalan said he’s only aware of six radon samples that have been taken in Merritt, all of which were below the Canadian guideline.
To mitigate radon levels, a homeowner can run a pipe from the gravel below a home’s concrete slab foundation, up through the house to the roof, drawing the gas through the pipe to disperse into the air. This is called a passive sub-slab ventilation system.
The pipe can include a fan to help move the radon through the pipe and out of a home. This setup is known as an active sub-slab depressurization system. The fan acts as a vacuum, sucking radon up through the pipe and venting it into the atmosphere.
Come Dec. 19, changes to the BC Building Code will require new homes to have a radon vent pipe extend through a home and out through its roof. The present building code calls for a capped pipe to be installed inside the building to simplify connection of a full radon mitigation system.
Baytalan said the flaw with the current requirement is that if a homeowner needs a mitigation system, it’s difficult to install the pipe upwards in a fully built house. The new code would have the pipes installed during the framing stage, and if an active system were needed, only a fan would have to be added.
Gage said anyone who wishes to test their home for radon can order a test kit for $30 by calling the BC Lung Association at 1-800-665-5864.
The detector should be placed in the lowest room in a home that’s occupied for more than four hours a day.
After letting the device take readings for about four months over the winter, testers can mail their devices to an instructed address to have them analyzed for results.
Gage said he expects the results of the committee’s radon testing in the spring.
He said the health experts at the air quality forum held on Oct. 17 said finding small amounts of radon in one’s home doesn’t mean they will get sick.
“Is everybody going to die? No. Is everybody going to get cancer? No,” Gage said, noting the health concerns are raised from prolonged exposure to high levels of radon.
Baytalan said now is the ideal time to test for radon and he’s available at 250-868-7853 to answer any questions people may have.
