Fraser Valley Regional District expands radon testing, wants province to fund mitigation work

The Fraser Valley Regional District is expanding radon testing in regional homes and calling for the province to help pay for bigger radon fixes.

On Thursday, the regional district's board voted to purchase 300 radon testers for use in the region which covers cities like Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Mission along with smaller communities east of Langley as far as Hope.

The board also voted to call for bigger solutions to the problem of radon in homes: they want the province to start funding a rebate program to help homeowners pay for vents and fans to dissipate radon gas.

Mitigation includes ducting and fans to vent the gas outdoors, a staff report noted. The average cost to install a system is $3,300 but can sometimes go up to more than $9,000.

"In the regional district there [are] areas with high radon detected," said Chris Kloot, a director on the board who is also a Chilliwack city councillor.

"We want to ensure that all our residents have the ability to test their homes and if there is high levels of radon that they would have an ability potentially to tap into some sort of a grant program or some sort of a top-up [for mitigation work]."

Radon gas, Health Canada explains, is created when uranium naturally breaks down in soil. It is invisible, odourless and tasteless.

People living in homes built on top of contaminated soil are at risk because the radioactive gas can seep in and build up over time.

It is the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking and kills about 3,200 Canadians every year.

Problem varies

The B.C Centre for Disease Control notes radon levels in soil vary across regions the Interior and northern B.C. tend to have higher levels and within regions.

The district conducted a series of tests late in 2022 to find which areas have the highest radon levels.

Staff noted the sample size was small for these tests but found concerning radon levels in a number of homes in Hope and Electoral Area H, which includes Cultus Lake and other outlying communities south of Chilliwack.

"This is something that we need to look into and we're hopeful that people will do that testing," Kloot said.

The approved motion from the regional district calls upon public health authorities to work on more radon awareness campaigning.

It also directs staff to draft a motion for consideration at next year's Union of B.C. Municipalities Conference.

The motion, to be voted on by the province's municipal leaders, will ask the provincial government to set up a rebate fund for existing homes to use to pay for mitigation.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs, when asked about the proposal, said it would review it if it were passed by the UBCM.