Radon kills more Canadians than car crashes

November 7, 2018

Radon, a naturally occurring and cancer-causing radioactive gas, is responsible for the death of more than 3,200 Canadians a year—amounting to more fatalities annually than car collisions, house fires, carbon monoxide poisoning and drowning combined, according to national health groups.
“We need to encourage people to take action to reduce their cancer risk and test their homes for radon,” said Pam Warkentin, executive director of the Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (CARST).
To kick off November’s Radon Action Month, the Canadian Cancer Society, CARST and CAREX Canada are launching Plan to be Here to raise awareness about the cancer risks associated with radon and the importance of having homes tested. 
According to Health Canada, over one million Canadian homes have high radon levels. But only 6 per cent of Canadians have ever tested their home for radon, according to Kelly Bush with Health Canada.
“We need to increase that number,” said Bush, who manages the agency’s radon education and awareness program. It can take a couple of hours to test a home for radon and a continuous radon monitoring system can be installed to keep the home healthy, according to CARST.

For more info, visit: www.carst.ca