Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury: Report in Brief
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Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury North-Central Ontario Report in Brief: Introduction, Summary, Recommendations & References January 2016 Report prepared by Radon Environmental Management Corp. Technical Review Committee Alan Whitehead, CEO Daniel Innes, Chairman Principal Technical Writer/Researcher Dr. Frederick W. Breaks, PhD, PGeo, C-NRPP GIS Lorraine Dupuis, Hon BSc Geology Graphic Design Alana McFarlane, C-NRPP Production Kristen Craiggs Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury | Radon Environmental Management | January 2016 Copyright © 2017, 2016 Radon Environmental Management Corp. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. First published 2016 in Canada by Radon Environmental Management Corp., 450-1040 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 4H1; www.radoncorp.com Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury | Radon Environmental Management | January 2016 Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 5 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 7 References ........................................................................................................................... 11 Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury | Radon Environmental Management | January 2016 i Introduction Radon Environmental Management Corp. (“Radon Environmental”) is a private environmental health and building sciences company founded in 2007, and is focused on reducing public exposure to radon gas. Radon gas enters buildings and comes into contact with people as a result of the way homes, schools and workplaces are designed, constructed and maintained. You cannot see, smell or taste radon gas. It is the leading environmental cause of lung cancer and has the highest mortality rate of all environmental exposures. Recent international studies are also showing possible links with other cancers, specifically leukemia in children and other immune system disorders such as M.S. Our Company is a recognized leader in raising radon awareness and education in Canada. Radon Environmental is the only integrated provider in North America of branded radon mapping products and services, together with radon measurement devices and innovative mitigation solutions. Radon Environmental has spent 7 years and more than $7 million developing the tools to alleviate the risk of radon induced cancer. Around the world, countries with active radon programs utilize radon risk maps in their planning and communications. Natural hazards like radon have a strong geospatial component, which plays a decisive role in communicating risk information. Health Canada also supports the use of geoscience data to more effectively focus limited resources. In 2010, Radon Environmental engaged a team of geoscientists to produce a geology-based Radon Potential Map of Canada, the first of its kind in the country. The Radon Atlas of Canada was also produced to illustrate how the map was generated and the consequences of radon in our environment. Since publishing the Map and Atlas in 2011, the Company has produced the first integrated Canada-USA Radon Potential Map, Provincial maps for public health authorities and is developing Regional and Municipal maps for direct use in community planning applications. Approximately 80% of the most densely populated areas of Canada fall within areas of elevated radon potential. The City of Greater Sudbury (CGS) falls within one of those areas of radon concern. Using the data gathered from published information sources, field surveys and independent and experimental analytical work on radon in Sault St. Marie-Sudbury area, a program to examine the radon potential of the CGS was initiated. This study, the first of its kind, was targeted on the Sudbury Region in part because of the quality of REM’s data for this area and the knowledge that high-risk radon potential is prevalent in the CGS. The objective of the Sudbury radon study was to establish a radon related database that would allow city planners to make informed decisions with respect to past, present and future guidelines for the city’s growth and the health and well-being of its citizens. Understanding radon, where it comes from, and Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury | Radon Environmental Management | January 2016 2 establishing enough data to make an assessment of risk are the first and necessary steps in designing solutions to this ever-present problem. Who is at risk, building codes and new policy: Health Canada’s (HC) policy is that all Canadian homes should be tested for radon and mitigated if above the HC guideline of 200 Bq/m3. The 2010 National Building Code incorporates radon resistant recommendations for new construction, which most provinces and territories have adopted and these measures will be strengthened when the 2010 code is revised later this year. In 2012, Ontario strengthened its code to require radon prevention measures in new construction where radon is known to be a problem. Some municipalities like Guelph and Thunder Bay have already adopted such prevention measures and others will soon follow. There are many sectors in Canada where radon testing and mitigation is necessary and should be mandated as a health and safety requirement. Exposure to radon in schools and daycare facilities presents one of the single largest dangers for our children. In 2012, recognizing the significance of this environmental health risk, the Quebec Ministry of Health mandated that all public schools in the province be tested for radon and the release of results is still pending. In December 2015, Quebec announced that it requires all daycares to be tested as a condition of permit. Radon is a Class A carcinogen and a potential occupational health hazard, which could have legal liabilities as workers may be exposed to radiation levels well beyond the current Canadian guideline. In 2017 the Canadian Labor Code will be revised and will address radon exposure in the workplace. Ontario is reviewing the radon prevention measures in its building code for new construction in 2017, and these measures are likely to be significantly strengthened. In June 2014, Tarion, Ontario’s largest independent new home warranty provider, announced it is now warranting all new homes in its 7 year warranty program against high levels of radon gas. The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) recently published a report recommending that federal and provincial governments implement legislative action on radon. The report also highlights potential legal liabilities that may exist for government authorities under civil law and for builders and landlords under contract law with regard to preventing exposure to radon. Radon is a naturally occurring element in our environment and radon-induced lung cancer is totally preventable. It is clear that large areas of the Canadian landmass, and importantly many centers of high population density and land use, reside in high or elevated geologic radon potential zones. Fortunately government and NGO initiatives to raise radon awareness and implement radon prevention measures across the country continue to increase and, with a growing media interest and public awareness, are sustainable. Green and Healthy Building Standards, such as LEED, are now recognizing radon as an indoor air quality risk that needs to be addressed through design and building measures for new construction. REM is an active member of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) and Canadian Home Builders’ Association Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury | Radon Environmental Management | January 2016 3 (CHBA) whose membership is made up of the leading homebuilders and construction companies across Canada. The radon study that follows includes a technical review of data acquired by Radon Environmental over more than 4 years and is integrated with relevant published data. A series of 24 maps and overlays folio is included to illustrate the database and is presented in a planning-friendly format. The full report also includes a number of appendices to accompany the technical data. The Sudbury Radon Mapping Study is the first study of its kind in Canada and will lead the way and set the standard for other communities and municipalities across the Country. This project is a socio-economic investment for the City of Greater Sudbury to prevent lung cancer and save lives. Radon Potential of the City of Greater Sudbury | Radon Environmental Management | January 2016 4 Summary This study is the first documentation of radon variation over the main population core of the CGS and importantly within a terrain that is dominantly influenced by emissions from bedrock sources. Field based work by Radon Environmental examined radon variation in bedrock units that underlie the main population core and also for various other rock units that lie within the region (e.g., Cartier Batholith). Much of the bedrock in the CGS is overlain by a thin veneer of glacial till, typically <1m thick, and geochemistry of this material