The number of homes in Windsor and Essex County with unsafe levels of radon — a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer — is higher than the Canadian average, according to data collected last year.
“We do have higher levels and the only way to know is to test for it,” Karen Lukic, health promotion specialist for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, said Wednesday.
“You can have a home with a high level next door to one that doesn’t have a high level. There’s really no way to know by looking at a house if it’s going to have radon issues or not.”
Almost 15 per cent of homes tested for radon in Windsor-Essex last year had levels exceeding the Canadian guideline which puts the region well above the estimated 6.9 per cent of Canadian homes with unsafe radon readings.
In the most recent test results for the region, almost 22 per cent of homes tested in Essex County and eight per cent of homes tested in Windsor had radon levels above the Canadian guideline of 200 Becquerel’s per cubic metre.
Because you can’t tell the risk of the odourless and colourless radioactive gas unless you test a house, the health unit is distributing 1,000 free kits to eligible local homeowners on a first-come, first-served basis as it wraps up a three-year study.
Karen Lukic, a health promotion specialist for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, displays a radon test kit on Nov. 1, 2017, that will be available to the public on a first-come, first served basis.
Radon occurs naturally and is produced when uranium in soil, rock or water decays. The radioactive gas naturally rises and can get into any type of building through openings such as cracks in the foundation, floor drains and sump pumps.
Exposure to radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, Lukic said, and accounts for 13.6 per cent of lung cancer deaths in Ontario each year.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit tested 886 homes last year and found 14.6 per cent of homes had radon levels above the guideline. A two-year study by Health Canada in 2012 included 13,807 tests and estimated 6.9 per cent of Canadians were living in homes with high radon levels.
That study found 8.2 per cent of Ontario homes tested over the guideline and the report calculated a population-weighted estimate of 4.6 per cent of homes in the province above the radon guideline. Either way, the latest Windsor-Essex percentages are higher.
“That’s why it’s so important that everybody gets the message that it could be in your home, it is the second leading cause of lung cancer, and we can look at the data … and learn more,” Lukic said of the continued testing.
Last year’s results showed the homes tested in Amherstburg and Kingsville had the highest average radon levels in the region while homes in Windsor and Essex had the lowest. But it was a small sample size and there’s no way to tell if a home has a low risk by its location, she said.
A 2011 survey of radon concentrations in Ontario found the highest percentages in Chatham-Kent and the region south of Ottawa where 20 per cent of homes tested were over the guideline, Lukic said. Sarnia/Lambton County and Elgin County, including St. Thomas, were at 10 per cent and London-Middlesex at five per cent.
Last year’s local results showed newer homes had the highest average levels. That may be because they are less drafty and the radon levels build up in the home, she said. “Everyone needs to test regardless of the age of your home.”
Test kits are available at hardware stores for $30 to $50. To apply for a free kit, you must be over 18, own your home and not be planning to do major renovations or sell your home in the next six months.
It can cost $500 to $3,000 to fix a home with high levels. Lukic said it usually involves sealing up cracks and ways the radon is getting in, and adding ventilation so the gas doesn’t build up in the home.
Residents can apply for a free kit online at www.wechu.org or in person at a health unit office.
