Photo: Contributed

As Radon Action Month comes to a close, nationwide studies indicate radon exposure is on the rise and continues to be a public health concern across Canada.

Greg Baytalan, air quality and radon expert with Interior Health, says the issue is of extra importance in the Interior.

"The provinces in Canada that have the highest prevalence of houses above the Canadian guideline in order is New Brunswick and Manitoba, but the B.C. Interior beats both of those," Baytalan says.

Radon is a radioactive gas that forms naturally when uranium, thorium, or radium, which are radioactive metals, break down in rocks, soil and groundwater. Radon gas decays into radioactive particles that can become trapped in your lungs which can lead to lung cancer.

It's the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canadians, especially for those who don't smoke.

Health Canada indicates that safe radon levels are 200 becquerels per cubic metre.

Recent data shows that in 2024, 75,000 readings were taken from urban and rural residential buildings across Canada and the results show that an estimated 10.3 million Canadians are living in houses with high radon.

The study says one in five Canadian residential buildings are at or above Health Canada's safe level.

In Atlantic Canada, the B.C. Interior and Yukon, it's one in three.

Baytalan says he had high radon levels in his older Kelowna home located in the Glenmore area.

"I have an old house and a dirt crawl space, and it (radon) was high and I fixed it," he said.

According to Take Action on Radon, 21 per cent of homes tested in the Kelowna area tested above Health Canada’s guideline of 200 Bq/m³. Baytalan says the number could be even higher if more homes were tested.

"Test, test, test. You can't see it, taste it or smell it. And you could be living in a place for years with high levels and not know it. And the only way to know your level is to test. People should test all their indoor environments," Baytalan says.

Baytalan says it's not just people who own older homes who should be concerned.

"Just because you have a new house doesn't necessarily mean that it's low in radon. We are building houses tighter and tighter all the time, there's less leakage and a high possibility of radon being trapped in the home."

Baytalan says most new builds come with radon infrastructure roughed in, but the BC building code does not require builders to install a fan system in the pipe to turn this into an active sub-slab depressurization system. Homeowners should consider installing a fan system.

"Radon should be part of the whole indoor air quality overview, for instance, your temperature, your humidity, all of that — radon should be part of the indoor air quality program," says Baytalan.

“The bottom line is that our risk for radon exposure has never been higher — and it’s important to note that the ground has not changed. What’s changed is what sits on top of the ground, because we are building houses differently over time,” says Dr. Aaron Goodarzi, scientific director of the Evict Radon National Study. “Newer houses are home to younger people by almost a decade. Canadian adults are having their kids in houses with the highest rate of radon exposure. It's the worst-case scenario.”

Radon test kits are available through the BC Lung Foundation for $49.99, which includes lab fees and test results.

Health Canada and the BC Lung Association recommend using a long-term radon test that remains in the building for a minimum of 3 months.