The City of Kimberley is participating in the Radon Awareness Project with Interior Health and Health Canada.

The objective of the overall project is to raise awareness about Radon and to get a better understanding of Radon levels throughout the Interior Health region. It is not known if there is a Radon concern in any particular community or building. However, as a precaution and to raise awareness as many communities and buildings as possible are being encouraged to test.

What is Radon?

Radon is a naturally occurring gas that is formed by the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. Every building will contain some amount of Radon gas — it becomes a concern when it reaches high levels. Second to smoking, Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer, and Health Canada estimates Radon exposure is linked to approximately 16% or 2000 Canadian lung cancer deaths per year. The risk of harm from Radon depends on cumulative exposure over a lifetime. Therefore, it is beneficial to identify locations that may be elevated so that relatively simple steps can be taken to reduce exposure.

Since it is colourless, odourless and tasteless, the only way to know if the Radon levels in your home are high is to conduct testing. The best time to test your home for Radon gas is now through April when windows and doors are often closed and rising warm air in a home draws more Radon from the ground. If high levels of Radon are found, basic measures can be taken to address the problem.

Testing a home is as easy as placing a small puck-like kit within the lowest area of the home that could be occupied for more than four hours per day. The kit should remain in that location for a minimum of three months and then mailed to a laboratory for results.

Free Test Kits Available!

In partnership with Interior Health and Health Canada, the City of Kimberley has a limited number of free test kits available for Kimberley households. First come, first serve, maximum one per household and verification of address is required. Kits may be picked up only at City Hall, 340 Spokane Street and should be installed as soon as possible following the provided instructions.

Return the kits to City Hall for delivery to the lab and you will receive the results report by email directly from the lab. Additional test kits are available for purchase from local retailers and the BC Lung Association at www.RadonAware.ca or call 1-800-665-5864.

For more information, contact the Healthy Built Environment Team at Interior Health – [email protected], call 1-855-744-6328 extension 4 or www.InteriorHealth.ca/YourEnvironment/AirQuality .

City of Kimberley