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HomeNewsNearly one in three Prince George homes test positive for cancerous gas

Nearly one in three Prince George homes test positive for cancerous gas

A large study of homes in Prince George has some worrying results.

Radon gas is a colourless, odourless and cancerous gas found in the soil caused by the natural break down of uranium.

Study results released yesterday by the BC Lung Association show that on average 29% of PG homes have dangerous radon levels (over 200 Bq/m3). One postal code area, V2M, had a 56% failure rate. A total of 1,436 homes were tested in Prince George.

“Some regions are a bit higher, some are lower.” BC RadonAware Coordinator Britt Swoveland says “The main message we want to get to people is that everyone should test. The only way for you to know if you have a radon problem is if you test your home.”

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She added that this is far from a Prince George specific problem and everyone should test their home.

“We also did a similar test in Castlegar (overall 59% failure), and there has been other testing by Health Canada in other areas of the province, but this is the largest study of its kind.”

The BC Lung Association says radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer, accounting for 16% of lung cancer deaths. A person that is exposed to high levels of the gas has 1 in 20 chance of developing lung cancer, but studies have shown that smoking and radon gas have negative synergistic effects, and a person that is exposed to both has a 1 in 3 chance of developing lung cancer.

Test kits are available at most hardware stores for under $30. If your home ends up testing for dangerous level of radon, renovations starting at around $500 can solve the problem.

View the full study here.

GRAPH 2 GRAPH 1 POSTAL CODE AREAS

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