A lot of Alberta housing is new and tight. Tight is good for heat and can also hold whatever the slab is pulling in. Public surveys have found plenty of homes over the Health Canada guideline, including in cities people assume are “fine.” The assumption is the mistake.

What to measure

Health Canada’s guideline is 200 Bq/m³ in a room where people actually spend time. A provincial average, a postal code, and the house next door do not give you that number. The detector goes in the lowest lived-in room.

When

Close the house and heat it. October through April is the useful window for a 91-day test. A 4-day test can answer a deadline. It does not replace the long test when you are deciding on mitigation. See when to test.

If the report is high

Mitigation is not an air purifier and not a season of open windows. How the system works and what changes the price.

The 4-day test is a first reading. The 91-day test is the length Health Canada uses to judge a full heating season. Both are $59 before tax. Shipping, the prepaid return, and the lab are included. Tax is extra. The PDF report is emailed within 2 business days after the lab receives the detector.

Above 200 Bq/m³, the fix is a fan that pulls soil gas from under the slab and exhausts it above the roof. Radon Gas is C-NRPP certified for testing and for mitigation, and ships kits across Canada. Start from the Canada test page.