St. Gregor Credit Union hosted an informative and well-attended evening presentation on the importance of testing and mitigation for radon gas in homes. The presentation included staff members from Lung Sask and professionals in radon detection and mitigation as part of a Q and A panel. The evening was held in the St. Gregor Community Hall.
St. Gregor area resident Gail Michel launched the evening with an overview of her family’s experience. Her new house registered radon levels higher than the Health Canada threshold of 200 becquerels / cubic metre while her son’s older house across the road registered much lower. Through the evening, experts explained that there are many factors in the accumulation of radon gas in homes.
Radon is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas that results from the breakdown of uranium in the soil. Saskatchewan soil is relatively rich in uranium, thus concentrations of the gas, in some measure, are present in any home.
“Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, and a lot of people don’t know that,” explained Jennifer May, vice-president, Health Promotion and Government Relations for Lung Sask. “Certainly, smoking is the number one cause, but radon gas exposure is number two. Everybody in Saskatchewan should be testing their home for radon. Just like we have a smoke detector, just like we have a carbon monoxide detector, we need to test for radon gas in our homes.”
During her presentation, health promotion coordinator Effie Kosmas explained that radon gas is drawn from the soil and into the house through cracks in concrete and faulty seals in windows. Most often, it's the differential in pressure between indoors and outdoors that helps the gas infiltration. Sealing those cracks and replacing windows will help, but by far the most effective home treatment for high levels of radon is hiring a professional mitigation team. They can set up mechanical airflow equipment in the home, often in the lower spaces like a dwelling basement, to expel the gas.
Testing is an easy process and incredibly important. That was the message from Lung Sask ambassador Christine Elliot from Watson who fell ill with breast cancer and lung cancer after living in her childhood home that contained a high level of radon gas.
Lung Sask ambassador Christine Elliot“The main reason I was really pulled to do an ambassadorship with Lung Sask was the fact that I had never heard of radon when my lung oncologist called me and said that mine was most likely a radon induced cancer,” said Elliot. “For someone to be the victim of it and not know anything about it showed me that there’s probably a huge amount of people who’ve never heard of it. Bringing that awareness to light will prepare people like me so they don’t end up in the same spot.”
At the St. Gregor event, the Lung Sask team had one time radon test kits available for purchase at a cost of $65 dollars. The test units, roughly the size and shape of a film canister, are left out over three months during the fall or winter when houses are generally sealed from the cold. Radon particles are registered when they hit a chip housed in the test. After the exposure period, the test unit is mailed to the Saskatchewan Research Council for analysis with the results being emailed back to the client.
New electronic monitors have gained ground over the past few years. They are reusable, transportable, and have become increasingly accurate in measuring radon concentrations and other air factors.
The evening spawned numerous questions from audience members. The information sessions with the Lung Sask facilitators are available to community groups on request. Contact Lung Sask at 1-833-385-LUNG (5864) or www.lungsask.ca. More information on radon and radon testing is available at www.homeradontest.ca.
Mon, Apr 29, 7:00 PM
Full-time, Permanent, Healthcare
