A few words about radon in your home

There was a time when I didn't know anything about radon and its dangers. I don't even remember how I came to hear about it, (actually Darlene just reminded me that it was her) but once I got informed about it, I knew I owed it to myself to look into it.

The government of Canada says "Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rock. It is invisible, odourless and tasteless. When radon is released from the ground into the outdoor air, it is diluted and is not a concern. However, in enclosed spaces, like homes, it can accumulate to high levels and become a risk to the health of you and your family."

Radon tends to accumulate in your home at a higher rate in winter when all your windows are closed because there's less fresh air being exchanged. This is also why when you buy a kit to test your air in your house, the instructions recommend performing the test during the winter months to give you a better indication of the highest levels present in your house. I bought such a kit, at Home Depot, for about $30 and set the detector up in my basement for 3 months in the winter. Once the test period was done, I sent it off to be analyzed for another $30 or so and waited.

My results came back with an average level of 322 Bq/m3 (becquerels per cubic metre). The government says "Remedial measures should be undertaken in a dwelling whenever the average annual radon concentration exceeds 200 Bq/m3 in the normal occupancy area." So I decided to install radon remediation measures.

I was lucky to be able to use the services of a handyman I always hire to do stuff around the house that I'm not qualified or experienced enough to do and he offered to install the remediation for us. You can expect it to cost between $2,500 and $4,000.

In our case, we were lucky because we already had a hole cut through the foundation floor for a possible sump, so we were able to mount the exhaust pipe there. After that big cold spell this past January, we also realized that we needed somewhere for any condensing water to go, so we had a drain installed in the line between the fan and the outside wall.

The remediation helps a lot, getting our winter time levels below 150 Bq/m3, sometimes as low as 75 Bq/m3. How do I know? Because I bought my own portable radon detector. Many of our neighbours got tested too and at least 3 of them are either remediated now, or are about to be.

Radon remediation is now standard in new home builds, at least having the piping roughed into the foundation floor. In the near future, having it installed will probably be a selling point, never mind the good it does in your home to remove one more factor in developing cancer.