Image: Jill Hall / Chilliwack resident Lee Gore, of the Gore Brothers home building family of Chilliwack, is pictured with a radon fan that was installed in a home. Following the release of radon test analyses that showed elevated levels of radon in Electoral Area H (Cultus Lake and Lindell) and in Hope, Fraser Valley Regional District staff support an effort to buy 200 radon kits and lobby the BC government for funding to help residents with radon mitigation systems in their homes.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Radon

FVRD staff support effort to buy 200 radon kits, lobby BC govt. for radon mitigation funding

Sep 19, 2023 | 9:35 AM

CHILLIWACK — Following the release of radon test analyses that showed elevated levels of radon in Electoral Area H (Cultus Lake and Lindell) and Hope, Fraser Valley Regional District staff support an effort to buy 200 radon kits and lobby the BC government for funding to help residents with radon mitigation systems in their homes.

According to a FVRD staff report prepared by environmental services coordinator Elias Ross, radon is a colourless, odourless gas that is linked to the deaths of more than 3,000 Canadians each year. Radon is reported to be the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. Radon gets naturally released into the environment from decaying radioactive materials in the earth.

Image: Supplied by the Canadian Lung Association / An illustration furnished by the Canadian Lung Association depicts in very basic terms how radon, an invisible and odourless gas, can infiltrate a home through cracks in walls, windows and foundations. The City of Chilliwack says 5 per cent of Chilliwack homes tested above the 200 bq/m3 threshold as set by Health Canada.

FVRD collaborated with Take Action on Radon, the BC Lung Foundation, and some local municipalities to promote radon awareness across the FVRD through household testing. Test kits were distributed in November 2022 to participating residents in communities like Chilliwack, Mission, Kent, Harrison, Hope and Electoral Area H; the kits were collected between March and May 2023.

Despite a relatively small sample size, radon levels exceeded 200 becquerels per cubic metre in Electoral Area H (Cultus Lake, Lindell and Soowahlie First Nation area) in 22 per cent of homes, according to the staff report from Elias Ross of FVRD. Radon levels above 200 bq/m3 were found in 15 per cent of homes tested in Hope, well above the provincial average of 8 per cent of homes with radon readings above 200 bq/m3.

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Homeowners that show readings above the 200 bq/m3 threshold are encouraged to pursue home mitigation efforts, Ross wrote in his report. His staff report included a recommendation that the FVRD board direct staff to prepare a resolution for the 2024 Union of BC Municipalities in order to ask the province to establish a funding program to assist residents with the cost of installing radon mitigation measures in their homes.

The report from Ross stated the cost of radon mitigation measures can be a significant barrier to some homeowners. As of 2019-2020, the average cost of installing these radon mitigation systems in British Columbia was $3,300, Ross said, but costs have exceeded $9,000 in some circumstances.

The cost of 200 radon kits and analysis, as Ross recommended, is an estimated $6,500. FVRD staff will continue to engage with potential funders to provide radon test kits, which may help offset costs, Ross wrote in his staff report.

Chilliwack realtor Jill Hall has been alerting public authorities and raising awareness about the need to mitigate radon exposure. Jill and her brother Tony Gore, both Chilliwack residents, started testing for radon here in Chilliwack about two and a half years ago and discovered some alarming results.

“We found readings peaking up to 1000 bq/m3 in homes in Chilliwack,” said Tony Gore. “In the past two years, we have tested over 100 homes with 30 per cent having high radioactive gas levels.”

During a public information and testing campaign commissioned by the City of Chilliwack in the past year, nearly five per cent of Chilliwack homes tested had high radon levels above the 200 becquerels per cubic metre threshold.

“That equates to thousands of homes potentially in our area with radioactive gas levels of concern,” said Hall, who hopes to have mandatory radon courses in all new construction builds. “Radon is a serious public health issue and I have been trying to engage [public health] for 2 1/2 years, raising the alarm on very high radioactive gases in multiple homes in the Lower Mainland.”

As someone who has personally dealt with the effects of radon in her own health journey, Hall says that she continues to consult with home owners and realtors on radon concerns and will keep petitioning public health authorities and public agencies about the importance of radon awareness.