WE'RE YOUR SOLUTION TO RADON
Mr. Radon® is a family-owned and operated business that started as a passion project for our family, as we wanted to find a way to fight back against cancer. As you can see, we've been successful in that mission. Since our start in 2005, we've been working hard to increase public awareness, pioneer new techniques, and work with provincial and federal government agencies and regulating bodies. At the same time, we are reducing Radon levels throughout Ontario using certifiable methods that reduce Radon levels to a safe level for your family so you can have peace of mind about your home.
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With our years of experience in commercial and industrial construction, we are committed to giving you top-quality service from our office staff and our field team while we work to solve your Radon problem.
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We want to treat your home like our home and your family like our family. That means we do not leave the job unfinished or your home a mess. We offer two guarantees that help to reflect these beliefs:
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Our Simple Radon Guarantee
We will lower your Radon levels to below 100Bq/m³ or as low as reasonably achievable.
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Our Cleanliness Guarantee
We will ensure that we have left your home clean.
Why is Radon Dangerous?
When radiation of all types interacts with the cells in your body, it can cause damage to how the cell replicates. Usually, this makes the cell unable to replicate as the cell’s instructions are damaged successfully. However, if the damage is done just the right way, it can cause the cell to replicate uncontrollably, becoming cancer. Typically, your body is very good at catching and dealing with these mutations, but they can go unnoticed and unchecked by the body.
Lung cancer is especially problematic as there are very few outward symptoms for the affected person or medical professionals until it’s very advanced. This, combined with the fact that Radon is colourless, odourless, and undetectable without specific testing methods, means it’s very easy not to realise you have a problem until it’s too late. According to Public Health Ontario, there are about 850 deaths per year related to Radon-induced lung cancer, equivalent to over two people per day dying in the province due to this invisible cause.
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Thankfully, we can test for Radon through professional services and do-it-yourself kits that you can purchase through us or from your local hardware store.
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Once you know your Radon level, you can decide whether or not you want to do something about it. As it’s radiation, there is no such thing as a “safe” level as it’s inherently bad. There are various thresholds that various groups suggest you take action at, all determined by the same dose calculations, just with slightly different variables used.
When discussing Radon, you’ll often see numbers expressed in Bequerel’s (Bq/m³) or picoCuries (pCi/L). Both are a measurement of radioactivity (how often a material radioactively decays in a given volume), not the dose (how much radioactive energy is deposited in the body).
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Becquerels are the standard scientific unit (SI), defined as one radioactive disintegration per second (in a cubic meter) and used everywhere but in the USA. The USA or imperial unit is the picoCurie or one trillionth of a Curie. This is 2.2 disintegrations per minute, or 0.037 disintegrations per second (in a litre, or 0.001 m³), based on how often a pound of radium emits radiation.
The conversion between the two is easy as 37 Bq/m³ = 1 pCi/L (pCi/L x 37 = Bq/m³). Both units are named after prominent radiation scientists, namely Henri Becquerel, who first discovered evidence of radioactivity, and Marie and Pierre Curie, who pioneered the “theory of radioactivity.” All three share the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics.
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Health Canada’s action level is 200 Bq/m³, the USA’s EPA’s action level is 150 (technically 4.8 pCi/L), and the World Health Organization’s is 100 Bq/m³. As the health risks from radiation increase exponentially, these action levels are where the various groups have calculated that your risk begins to increase more dramatically and, as such, where you should start to take action.
What is Radon?
At its simplest, Radon is a radioactive gas that is created when trace amounts of naturally occurring uranium break down over time. Once changed from a solid particle to a gaseous form, Radon can move through the soil and enter our homes, where it can build up to dangerous levels. It is our job to reduce the entry of these gases into your home.
Radon is colourless, odourless, tasteless, and typically present in such low concentrations that we wouldn’t be able to measure it if it wasn’t radioactive!
Why Should You Be Concerned About Radon?
As this picture shows, there are several ways for Radon to move in its gaseous form through the soil into your home. The primary source of entry is small cracks and openings found in the floor, like the perimeter joint. Other penetrations like drainpipes, settling cracks, open sump pits, back-flow preventer boxes, and other larger floor openings can also be a source of Radon entry into a home.
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Once Radon enters a home, it gets trapped there and builds up. Being exposed to these high levels of radiation from Radon causes a host of health issues, with the leading issue being lung cancer, especially in non-smokers. This is because while our protective layer of dead skin can usually shield our body from the radiation that Radon produces, our lungs have no such protection and are left exposed. When we breathe in airborne Radon gas, the radiation can strike and mutate living lung tissue, potentially causing lung cancer.
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While Radon gas outside of the home is a naturally occurring event, because it has nowhere to build up in concentrated amounts, it is not an issue. However, Radon buildup in a home is an issue, and we are here to ensure that your home remains safe for you and your family.
Services Provided
We consider ourselves a one-stop-shop for all things Radon-related, so we offer many services to help protect your home, school and workplace from Radon overexposure. Below, you'll find our three main areas of service.
A complete listing of regularly available services can be found on our services page. If you're interested in a Radon-related or VOC-related service not listed in our extensive lineup, we're happy to discuss how we can help.
Radon Testing
It is recommended that homes, schools and workplaces be tested for Radon, as all buildings have some level of Radon. Please get in touch with us for options and pricing for commercial or public sector buildings.
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For residential testing, we recommend a DIY kit. This is the most economical option, which you'll find available for purchase on our Test at Home page.
Residential Mitigation
If your Radon level is higher than you're comfortable with, this is our next step in solving the Radon problem.
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We are a crew of certified Radon mitigation specialists who will install a permanent sub-slab depressurization Radon mitigation system in your home to reduce the source of Radon under your home and prevent it from entering in the first place.
Commercial Services
This section is for those seeking help with Radon or VOCs in a commercial or industrial setting.
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Whether you need a starting point, advice on how to handle a specific situation or a solution, we've developed several commercial-specific skills and techniques that help solve any Radon or VOC problem.
Products
While there are a few different ways to measure Radon radiation, only a few can be done without complicated laboratory equipment. Fewer still that are both accurate and cost-friendly. As such, we offer both short-term (4 days) and long-term (91+ days) testing kits to ensure that we have an option that will fit a range of needs as best as possible.
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You might ask why we have both a long-term and a short-term test if the short-term test is accurate. The short answer is that Radon can fluctuate from hour to hour based on any number of things, apparent or not. It is possible that during the four-day testing period, you may have a "false high" or a "falsely low." Health Canada recommends the 91+ day test to prevent an inaccurate reading, as it is not susceptible to these spikes. However, we've found that not everyone is willing to wait for three months to find out if they have a Radon problem, and as such, we have made the 4-day test available.
