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Canadians Urged to Renovate Houses to Check Radon Gas Radiation
June 14, 2007 at 2:28 PM
General Health News
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive substance and byproduct of the decay of uranium in soils and rocks. It is considered a leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.
Unfortunately it can also build up to dangerous levels inside homes. It is such fears that have prompted Health Canada to propose to significantly lower the threshold at which homeowners should take remedial action to reduce the risk.
"After careful study, considering all the options, we came to the conclusion that, yes, it is indeed time to lower the guideline," Bliss Tracy, head of radiological impact for Health Canada, said in an interview.
Radon hot spots include Winnipeg, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia's Interior, where an estimated 60,000 residents live in homes that pose an unacceptable risk of lung cancer.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control confirms "there are thousands of British Columbians blissfully unaware that their homes could be slowly and quietly killing them."
Health Canada estimates radon gas kills 2,000 people annually in this country, more than fires, drownings, air crashes, and accidental poisonings combined, and one-tenth of the estimated 20,000 radon deaths in the U.S.
Radon gas is odourless, colourless and tasteless; like smoking, it can take many years of radon inhalation to damage lung tissue at the DNA level and result in cancer.
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guest
06/14/2007
We are thrilled to see Canada taking this action to protect its citizens. In the United States exposure to radon is the leading cause of cancer in non-smokers. Looking at maps of radon levels across the states shows that those nearest the Canadian border have the highest levels. In Minnesota for example, it is felt that one in three homes have above the U.S. maximum recommended level of 400, which translates into one in a hundred Minnesotans that would be expected to develop lung cancer from radon. We believe people would be much more responsive to testing and venting radon gas when needed if they were aware of these numbers. We spend a lot of money saving and planning for retirement. Spending a little money to avoid this entirely preventable cause of cancer may be an insurance policy for making it to retirement!
Lynne Eldridge M.D.
Author, "Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time"
http://www.avoidcancernow.com
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