A recent report by a National Building Code Committee task force confirms what VRBA and the Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technicians have been saying for years.
Their report says:
A trend of increasing indoor radon in housing…
There is no safe level of radon, and the excess relative risk of radon increases linearly with the cumulative radon exposure. There is a health benefit from reducing any concentration of indoor radon, lowering the risk of lung cancer for both smokers and non-smokers, which is proportional to the reduction in cumulative or long-term radon exposure.
Canadian radon mapping is not accurate enough
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Canada (26%)
Radon is the second cause of lung cancer, after smoking
Radon can seep into housing through cracks and joints in the floor and walls when the pressure is lower indoors than in the soil (depressurization in more energy efficient homes)
Passive radon stacks reduce indoor radon very effectively
Installing passive radon stacks in new housing construction shows that the main benefit is preventing lung cancer deaths
Reduces risk of lung cancer for both smokers and non-smokers
Reduces the main cause of lung cancer in non-smoking household
“The Task Group on Radon and Soil Gas Mitigation (TG) is recommending that the National Building Code mandate the addition of a passive radon stack system to all Part 9 dwelling units containing residential occupancies that are in contact with the ground.”
Yet the BC govt and councils in Saanich, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay and others proceeded with fast-tracking Step Code without radon mitigation prior to this national review. VRBA outlined our concerns about radon in letters to all CRD municipalities:
“Depressurization in newer homes may draw in more radon, and they have fewer air changes than older homes. Radon is site specific, not identifiable on “radon maps” which is why BC’s map keeps changing for
radon mitigation rough-ins. Unfortunately, the BC Step Code establishes high levels of energy efficiency over health and safety–the foundation of a building code.”
As the CRD & these municipalities continue to fast-track the Step Code, VRBA said in a letter: “Municipalities do not possess the expertise, experience nor resources to do the necessary research and diligence for major code changes to ensure health and safety.”
The recent National Building Code report confirms what we have been saying in our ongoing blog about the Step Code.