Radon in Saskatchewan test through the heating season
Public cross-Canada surveys have repeatedly placed Saskatchewan among the provinces with more homes over 200 Bq/m³. That is the reason to test your own house, not a reason to assume every house is high or that yours is already known. There have also been provincial renovation credits at times. Check the current program before you count on it.
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 Saskatchewan
Population-weighted estimate: 15.7%. Regina Qu’Appelle was 25.5% of 94 homes. Saskatoon was 7.9% of 76. Regina, Saskatoon.
Sources
