Radon Protection | Spray Foam Insulation

What Is Radon?

Radon is a radioactive gas created when uranium separates in the bedrock, soil, and groundwater. It is a cancer-causing radioactive gas that comes from the natural decay of radioactive Uranium found in our soil.

Radon is estimated to cause up to 16,000 lung cancer deaths each year in Canada.  According to the National Academy of Science's Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation VI report, exposure to indoor radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to smoking, but it is also preventable.

Despite the fact that it is not deadly as it saturates the air, delayed presentation to radon gas can be hurtful. The individuals who are uncovered for an extensive timeframe have a 2%-5% lifetime danger of getting lung malignant growth.

True Facts:

1. Radon is a radioactive gas that can not be seen, tasted or smelled.

2. Radon is the second driving reason for lung malignancy.

3. Around 7% of homes in Canada have large amounts of radon.

How Does Radon Enter a Building

Since radon is a gas and the air pressure inside your home is usually lower than the pressure in the soil around your home’s foundation, your house draws radon in through foundation cracks and other openings. Your home then traps it inside.

Every home may have radon problems, the new homes, old homes, well-sealed homes, drefty homes and homes with/without basements.

Radon may be present in water as well, and it can be released in the air in your home while using water. Mostly, radon entering the home through water is a small risk compared with radon entering the home from the soil.

Some radon entry routes:

• Cracks in concrete slabs.
• Spaces behind brick walls
• Floor-wall joints
• Pores and cracks in concrete blocks
• Exposed soil, sump or crawl space
• Weeping Tile.
• Loose fitting pipe penetrations.
• Mortar Joints.
• Open tops of block walls.
• Water etc.

In each structure, the gaseous tension inside is quantifiably lower than the pneumatic stress in the ground soil outside. In a private home, as air escapes, air and gas from the beginning (counting radon) saturate the inside.

Radon gas can enter a structure through a wide range of openings – the establishment, outside dividers, bolster pillars, divider joints, floor channels etc.

Dangers of Radon

Among smokers, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, far behind the exposure to tobacco, but among non-smokers, it is the leading cause. It is believed to be associated with approximately 16% of lung cancer deaths worldwide.

In fact, lung cancer is still the only known risk associated with prolonged exposure to radon.

When released into the air in our homes, radon breaks down to microscopic fragments that mix to the dust that we breathe in. These fragments continue to break down for a few minutes in our lungs, where they emit alpha particles that produce ionizing radiation. The more the bronchial cells are bombarded by these radioactive alpha particles, the greater the risk that they will change and transform into malignant cells.

The radon-tobacco factor.

The combination of radon and tobacco is deadliest. Health Canada statistics suggest that a non-smoker exposed to high concentrations of radon during his or her entire life has a 5% chance of getting lung cancer, but for a smoker, the odds are 33%.

At-risk subjects

For there to be a truly increased risk of lung cancer, a person (especially if he or she smokes) must be exposed to a high concentration of radon for more than four hours a day in an enclosed space (e.g., a basement).

If your basement has, for example, a home office, a family room where everyone gathers daily, or a room where someone sleeps every night, you might want to consider getting help.

The ground floors of homes without basements, especially if there is no crawl space either, are also candidates for high radon concentrations. It’s important to remember, however, that radon is heavier than air, so it always stays fairly close to ground level. In other words, the higher you go in a multi-storey building, the less likely you are to be exposed to radon.

When to Get Protection

Since 2010, new construction standards necessitate that progressively protection measures be set up for homes. One of the methods is the mandatory installation of a sub-slab depressurization pump. If the home was built before 2010, the radon level should be tested. This can be done by using a home kit.

Health Canada prescribes that moves have to be made if the results are higher than 200 Bq/m³. Contact a contractor that is certified by CUFCA.

Spray Foam Insulation - Radon Remediation And Prevention

When applying spray foam, you are adding more than just insulation.

Spray Foam Insulation is the most efficient manner used by experts for protecting the building from radon harmful effects. It is already a common knowledge that the spray foam is the superior choice for insulation providing high radon-protection to the building where applied.

Spray foam creates a continuous air barrier that acts as the first line of defense against not only radon but also other malignant gases. Beside this, spray foam is a vapour barrier that protects the foundation. It protects a building from major damages that can occur with the time.

At EcoStar, we are committed to helping our customers understand the how and why of their home renovations so that you feel confident when choosing our services. We invest our time in your home protection. For knowing more about insulation and its benefits, keep reading our informative posts. Our services might fit the needs of your home renovation or insulation project. 

If you find your home in need of insulation, get in touch HERE.

We’d be happy to explain more when we have the right information about your home situation.