Back to SearchOn November 11, KFL&A Public Health and the City of Kingston Housing & Social Services Department with support from Health Canada, began sampling radon levels in basement and ground-level social housing units in the City of Kingston and Frontenac County.
Radon detectors are being installed in units by KFL&A Public Health staff and property owners. Detectors will monitor radon gas levels in social housing units for three months. After three months, radon detectors will be collected by KFL&A Public Health and sent to an accredited lab for analysis.
Radon results will be communicated to tenants and property owners. If radon levels are found to be above Health Canada’s threshold of 200 Bq/m3, remediation measures will be implemented by property owners and with the support of the City of Kingston. KFL&A Public Health will conduct follow-up testing after remediation to ensure radon levels are below the guideline.
“We prioritized sampling in basement and first floor units because these tenants have the highest risk of radon exposure” said Miranda Iezzi, Environmental Health Facilitator at KFL&A Public Health. “Radon comes from the ground and gets into buildings through cracks in floors and walls. Basements and first floor units are closest to the ground, so the potential risk of exposure is highest in these areas”.
Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in rocks and soils. You can’t see, taste or smell radon. It can enter buildings through cracks in foundation floors and walls, gaps in pipes, open floor drains, or any other area of exposed soil. In confined spaces like a home, radon can build up to high levels becoming a health risk.
Breathing in high levels of radon for many years can lead to lung cancer. In Canada, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoke. To learn more about radon, including potential health risks and how to lower radon levels in your home, visit kflaph.ca/radon.
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