A new survey shows that seven in ten living in homes with high radon levels are ignoring dangerous radioactivity.
The New Brunswick Lung Association is raising new awareness about radon.
It is a colourless, odourless, radioactive gas that is generated naturally from the breakdown of small amounts of uranium found in the soil and rock. All home and buildings contain some radon. It gets into buildings through cracks in the foundation, floor drains or openings for pipes.
Spokesperson Roshini Kassie says people don’t realize the risks of radon, “Breathing high levels of radon increases your risk of developing lung cancer, so it is quite a public health problem in Canada. Throughout the years, they’ve been testing different homes and different buildings across the country and looking at signs all over the world in Europe and the US, and yes there is a link between breathing high levels of radon and lung cancer.”
Residents are encouraged to test their homes to find out how much radon there is, and many are taking an interest, “How it gets in your home, through cracks in the foundation and so on. people are learning more about the links of lung cancer, and they want to prevent getting lung cancer. So a lot more people, they’re learning and they’re testing for radon, and taking steps to reduce radon levels.”
Kassie says the only way to know if it is in your home, is by testing for it.
At least eight Canadians die every day from radon-induced lung cancer.
