Radon in Quebec the province is not one number
Public health maps show that some regions, including parts of the Eastern Townships and the Outaouais, turn up more often. That is a reason to test, not a reading for your slab. Many new homes have had a radon pipe since the 2022 construction code. The pipe waits. The test happens after you live there.
What to measure
Health Canada’s guideline is 200 Bq/m³ in a room where people actually spend time. A provincial average, a postal code, and the house next door do not give you that number. The detector goes in the lowest lived-in room.
When
Close the house and heat it. October through April is the useful window for a 91-day test. A 4-day test can answer a deadline. It does not replace the long test when you are deciding on mitigation. See when to test.
If the report is high
Mitigation is not an air purifier and not a season of open windows. How the system works and what changes the price.
The 4-day test is a first reading. The 91-day test is the length Health Canada uses to judge a full 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. Radon Gas is C-NRPP certified for testing and for mitigation, and ships kits across Canada. Start from the Canada test page.
What the 2009–2011 survey measured in Quebec
Raw: 10.1% of homes tested. Population-weighted: 8.2%. Montreal was 6.9% of 73 homes. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine was 25.3% of 174. Montreal, Gaspé.
Sources
- Health Canada — radon guideline, 200 Bq/m³
- Health Canada — radon: what you need to know
- Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes, 2009–2011
- Guide for radon measurements in residential dwellings (Health Canada)
City rows from the same survey: Quebec City, Laval, Sherbrooke, Gatineau.
