KFLA Public Health turns its attention to radon

Jeff Green | Dec 13, 2017

Kieran Moore, the Medical Officer of Health For Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, is concerned about radon gas, seeing it as a major public health risk.

Radon is an odourless, colourless gas that that is produced by the decay of uranium found in rocks, soil and water. Buildings that are constructed on substrates with high concentrations of radon can create a draw for the gas, which seeps in, and can concentrate in the ground floor, and especially in basements. It does note readily migrate to the upper floors of houses, and is most prevalent in basements, but can be circulated through houses through heating and air-conditioning systems.

It is a major causal factor in the development of lung cancer, having been shown to be responsible for 16% of lung cancer deaths in Canada, according toa report called Radon: Poilcy Considerations, that was presented to members of the Board of KFL&A Public Health in October.

It is the second most deadly environmental carcinogen in Ontario, according to a report published in 2016 by Public Health Ontario and Cancer Care Ontario. Between 1090 and 1550 lung cancer deaths in Ontario are attributable to radon exposure each year. The most deadly environmental carcinogen is the solar UV radiation, which is associated with 2100 and 3000 deaths from melanoma each year.

Radon levels vary according to geography, and in the KFL&A region 11% of homes tested contained over 200 Becquerells per cubic metre, the level where human health can be compromised, according to the government of Canada. The provincial average is 4.6%, making the issue of extra concern in KFL&A

“It should be noted,” said Keiran Moore in a telephone interview last week, “that there is no safe level of exposure to radon, and that in Europe the target is set at 100”.

Moore added that he would have thought that “the levels would be higher on the Canadian Shield portion of the region,” but the studies that were done showed as much exposure on the limestone substrate as on the granite.

To put the risk posed by radiation exposure into context, Moore said that continued exposure to radon over time brings the of developing cancer among non-smokers to 1 in 15. The risk for the population as a whole is about 1 in 300 according to an article published in July o fthis year by Dr. Lynne Eldridge on the website Verywell.com.

The lung cancer risk for smokers, which is 1 in 9, is greatly increased when smokers are exposed to radon over time, rising to 1 in 3, according to Dr. Moore.

“Now that our smoking rates are coming down, we are making headway with lung cancer, which is our number one killer” said Moore. “As this happens, radon, the second most important causal factor, is more and more in our sights.”

The report to the KFL&A Board of Health looks at what the health unit can do to begin scaling back the impacts of radon on residents, in our own region and province wide.

“Exposure can be effectively prevented through well-established radon-specific building measures.” which, the report says “are easy to install during the construction process of new homes and costs approximately $500. However it is more difficult to retrofit an existing building and the expense rises to $1,200 to $5,000.”

Dr. Moore said that the first step for residents is to test for radon. There are kits available at hardware stores at a reasonable price. There are short term and long term tests available.

Brooks Gee, a regional manager for Mr. Radon, a mitigation company, said that the long term kits that are available are generally better than the one time kits. He also said that the place to test in a house is the lowest occupied level.

“If the basement is only used for storage and laundry, it is best to test in the kitchen, but if the basement is occupied, I would test there, said Gee.

Gee also said that his experience dovetails with the studies that have found radon is prevalent throughout the region, regardless of whether the substrate is limestone or granite, but “although it is not scientific I would say the 11% figure for high levels is low,” he said.

Currently only 4% of Canadians have had their homes tested.

Homeowners who are living in homes that are less than 7 years old should test immediately, because through the new home warranty act, Tarion covers 100% of the cost of mitigation for radon for the first 7 years.

Public Health will be advocating for changes to the Ontario Building code requesting that radon specific building measures be adopted in the code when it is amended next year,.

But municipalities need not wait that long.

According to the policy report, Public Health can pursue “advocating to municipalities in our region to adopt radon-specific measures in the National Building Cose as bylaws, in the way that it is done in the City of Guelph, Central Elgin, St. Thomas and Thunder Bay.”

Other immediate measures that can be taken are testing all schools and daycares for radon, and the report also urges the Board to advocate that the threshold be lowered to 100Bq/M³ from 200Bq/M³ to bring Canada in compliance with the threshold level that is recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Starting in the new year, the KFL&A Public Health should pursue a “multipronged strategy to reduce radon exposure for residents in the KFL&A region. These efforts are an investment towards achieving an enduring reduction in the rate of radon-related lung cancer deaths in our region,” the poluicy report concludes.

Dr. Moore said that in response to the report, he made a “promise to the board to come up with concrete best practices. I hope over the next six months we will be able to have the best practices in play. We are bringing in provincial and federal experts to do this.”

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