What are the health Risks?

• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon exposure is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. 16% of lung cancers are estimated to be from radon exposure. More than 3000 people die in Canada from radon-induced lung cancer every year.
• Radon gas in the air can be breathed into the lungs where they breakdown further and emit “alpha particles”. Alpha particles release small bursts of energy which are absorbed by nearby lung tissue. This results in lung cell death or damage. When lung cells are damaged, they have the potential to result in cancer when they reproduce.
• Radiation from inhaled radon gas can damage cells in the lungs. The effects depend on the levels of radon and how long a person is exposed to these levels. The Canadian guideline is based on an exposure period of about 70 years spent in a dwelling that contains elevated levels of radon 75% of that time. Other than lung cancer, there is no evidence that radon exposure causes other harmful health effects.  This includes any other form of cancer, respiratory diseases such as asthma, or symptoms such as persistent coughing and headaches.
• People who smoke AND are exposed to radon have an even higher risk of lung cancer.
• The health risk from radon is long-term not immediate therefore the longer you are exposed to high levels of radon, the greater your risk.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO TEST

RADON IN REAL ESTATE

How to help your clients with Radon

• We can help your clients by testing over a three day period to give you some insight whether further testing is needed or even suggest negotiating to have mitigation completed before closing.
• Questions? Ask us!  We can answer your radon questions to support both you and your clients to learn more about radon.

Radon in Nova Scotia

• There are areas of Nova Scotia which have a higher risk of radon because of the local geology.
• Radon Test results have shown that 40% of buildings in the high risk areas exceed the radon guideline. In the medium risk areas, 14% of buildings exceed the guideline and in the low risk areas 5% exceed the guideline. These results tell us that even homes in low risk areas should be tested.
• It was recently reported that over half the homes tested for radon in the Halifax area last year during a national initiative had levels that either exceeded or came close to exceeding what has been deemed to be safe by Health Canada.
• The radon risk map for Nova Scotia from Department of Natural Resources website shows areas with high, medium and low risk.

Test Before You Sell

• Most homes will have a low radon level but the only way to know is to test.
• This will ultimately allow you to recommend testing and mitigation if necessary before they sell to enable the client to include the radon level as a selling feature.

Test After You Buy

• There are real estate professionals who are providing long-term test kits and / or free Health Canada radon materials in client gift baskets.
• In some cases, real estate professionals are even using a hold back to allow for long term radon testing after a transaction is complete. If a high radon level is found to be too high in the home over the long term testing, mitigation can be completed using the hold back funds.
• Overall,  homes with lower overall radon level is a healthy home.

How do you conduct a test?

• We do a short term test over 48 hours.  Accordingly, that requires us to drop of the test materials and then retrieve them three days later.
• Information we compile will indicate if further testing over a long period of time is needed or warranted.
• Check our Pricing Page to find out what it will cost you.

My home tested above 200 Bq/m3 Now What?

• If we discover what we believe to be an unsafe amount of radon, we will then recommend a longer test of up to 6 months.  This is to get an average that will determine if mitigation is necessary.
• Techniques to lower radon levels are effective and does save lives.  Radon levels can be reduced by more than 80% that is comparable to other common home repairs such as replacing the furnace or air conditioner.
• As a rule, the average cost to reduce radon levels in the home is often between $1,500 to $3,000.