Radon in Calgary 8.1% of 86 homes in the 2012 sample
The Calgary health region was 8.1% of 86 homes above 200 Bq/m³, and none of that sample was above 600. Alberta’s population-weighted estimate was 5.7%. The Capital health region that covered Edmonton was 1.4% of 73 homes.
Eighty-six houses do not describe every neighbourhood in Calgary. New houses are tighter, and a code rough-in is a pipe, not a measurement. The 91-day test during the heating season is what you compare with 200.
What the percentage does not measure
The survey describes homes recruited in a health region, not your house. The slab, the footing drain, the cracks and how many hours the windows stay shut change the number from one address to the next. The reading that matters is the lowest lived-in room, during the heating season.
If the report is over 200
In that survey, Health Canada asked participants to act within two years between 200 and 600 Bq/m³, and within one year above 600. Next steps: radon above 200. Alberta Edmonton
The 4-day test is a first reading. The 91-day test is the length Health Canada uses to judge a heating season. Both are $59 before tax. Shipping, the prepaid return and the lab are included. Tax is extra. The PDF report is emailed within 2 business days after the lab receives the detector.
Above 200 Bq/m³, the fix is a fan that pulls soil gas from under the slab and exhausts it above the roof. Gaz Radon is C-NRPP certified for testing and for mitigation, and ships kits across Canada. Start from the Canada test page.
Source: Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes, long-term tests in the 2009–2011 heating seasons, report published in 2012. A health-region percentage is not a reading for one address.
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