Radon in the Yukon 19.6% of homes, and a high share above 600
The Yukon was 19.6% above 200 Bq/m³ on 225 homes. The detail that changes the urgency: 5.8% were above 600. That is one of the largest “above 600” shares in the country, alongside New Brunswick. Health Canada asked participants in that band to act within a year.
Whitehorse holds most of the housing, but the table is territorial. A house on piles and a house on a slab do not receive the same soil gas. Measure the occupied room.
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. Whitehorse Northwest Territories
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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