Do you have radon in your new home? Learn how to find out and if you should take action

Radon, an odourless, tasteless and radioactive gas, has been around since the beginning of time. It’s the natural gas created by uranium breakdown in soil, rocks, and water.

By the time radon hits the open air, it’s diluted enough to not pose a risk to human health. But trapped indoors, depending on the levels and length of exposure radon can cause serious health risks; so much so that the Canadian government has identified radon exposure as the #1 leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.

How radon can enter your home

Radon can enter a home by potentially infiltrating basements and crawl spaces due to air pressure differences between the interior of the home and the surrounding soil. This pressure difference can draw air and gases, including radon, up from the soil into the home through small openings such as construction joints, spaces around service pipes, or floor drains.

How to determine your risk

All homes are likely to contain some radon gas in them and levels can vary depending on location — even homes adjacent to each other can have different radon levels. The only way to determine the radon levels in your home is to do a test.

How to test for radon in your home

You can use a do-it-yourself radon test kit or hire a radon measurement professional.

If you go the DIY route, you can purchase a radon test kit from your local hardware store or even order it online. You’ll need to take your measurements in the lowest level in your home and measure results over at least three months (91 days or more). For a list of approved devices and certified professionals, you can visit Health Canada’s Take Action on Radon website.

What to do if you detect radon in your newly built home

First, it’s important to know that just because your home has radon does not necessarily mean that it’s at harmful levels. The 2024 Cross Canada Survey of Radon found that approximately 1 in 5 (17.8%) of people residing in Canada live in buildings with radon levels at or above the current radon guideline of 200 Bq/m³.

For newly built homes, radon mitigation is included as part of a builder’s warranty for seven years from the home’s original date of possession.

If you have questions about radon in your new home, reach out to your builder. Tarion can also help you understand what is covered under your builder’s warranty and how to make a claim if needed.

A final thought about radon in your newly built home

November is Radon Action Month and experts recommend testing for radon during winter months to get the most complete picture of how much potential radon might be in your home.