WINNIPEG — Radon is colourless, odourless and tasteless, but experts warn it can kill you.
The radioactive gas could be in your basement right now — Manitoba has the highest levels of radon in the country.
Winnipeg homeowner Janet Quiring isn’t waiting any longer; she’s testing her home for radon.
“I never knew it was that small and that easy to do,” said Quiring.
With a simple test available at Home Depot or at Radonmatters in Winnipeg, she’ll know in months whether her house has the deadly radioactive gas.
Nearly one in four Manitoba homes have an unsafe level of radon.
“You will never feel radon,” said Erin Crawford of the Canadian Cancer Society. “You will never be aware you have been exposed until you start to see the health effect, which is primarily lung cancer.”
Radon comes from the soil your home is built on and comes through cracks in the floor or walls and the sump pump in your basement.
There are high levels of radon in 41 per cent of homes in southwestern Manitoba. Northern Manitoba and Winnipeg have the lowest rates of radon.
It’s the second-highest cause of lung cancer after smoking.
“You can be exposed to it at very high levels and have no symptoms in the short term,” said Crawford. “It is long-term exposure that causes the health concerns.”
Experts say this is the best time of year to start a radon test in your home, because as the temperature dips, radon levels increase.
More than 200 becquerels per cubic metre is safe, but Radonmatters in Winnipeg recently tested a Winnipeg home with more than 3,000 becquerels per cubic metre.
Eric Bjornson said it’s easy to deal with the problem.
“You’ll want to seal your building where it’s contacting the ground,” said Bjornson.
For Quiring, spending $30 to $60 on a home test is priceless.
“I’m hoping that result will come back as a negative or a very low level, if anything,” said Quiring.
She’ll leave the test in her home for three months, then send it in to get the results.
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