Chris Lowrey
PONTIAC April 11, 2018
Since April is cancer awareness month, it seems appropriate to talk about one of the least-mentioned cancer risks many of us are in danger of being exposed to – radon gas.
April 3 was Healthy Schools’ Day and the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE) and Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) is launching a national petition to urge for the mandatory testing for radon in Canadian schools.
Radon is formed by the gradual breakdown of uranium in rocks and soil. It exists in all regions in Canada and is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
This radioactive gas can seep through foundations and build to unhealthy levels inside homes.
The coulourless and odourless gas poses significant health risks. For those exposed to radon on a long-term basis, they face a one in 20 chance of developing lung cancer. If exposed to cigarette smoke as well, that risk increases to one in three.
Because there is no way for a person to detect radon, the CPCHE and the CCCF is calling for mandatory testing in Canadian schools.
According to CAREX Canada, four of Canada’s 13 provinces have made it mandatory for schools to be tested.
In Quebec, 57 per cent of schools have been tested for radon. In contrast, just 18 per cent of Ontario schools have been tested.
In a region like the Pontiac with high amounts of uranium, the risk is that much higher.
“Radon exposure is a well-known avoidable cancer risk that may be present at schools and child care centres at levels considered unsafe by Health Canada,” CPCHE Executive Director Erica Phipps said in a press release.
Testing for radon is relatively inexpensive. The cost of a home test is between $35 and $50. To get a professional to do the testing costs slightly more at around $150 per test.
Some relatively simple and economic fixes can be implemented if radon levels are too high. For example, a radon professional can reduce indoor levels by simply sealing cracks or installing a pipe that vents the gas from below the basement floor to the outside.
Anyone interested in signing the petition can find it at www.healthyschoolsday.ca
