Rural Ontario man finds high levels of radioactive gas in new home — wants others to check

If it wasn't for an encounter with a neighbour last summer, Bob Barnes would have never known his recently purchased house also came with extremely high levels of a cancer-causing gas. 

In July of 2023, Barnes purchased and started renovating a property in the Chatham-Kent, Ont., community of Cedar Springs to be closer to his grandchildren.

And one day, while sitting outside on the porch, a neighbour stopped by. 

"[He] said, 'Are you aware of the radon gas levels out here?' We had no idea and he said, 'I have a meter — you are welcome to use it,'" said Barnes.

About 24 hours later, the monitor placed in his living room read 2,500 becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3). The healthy limit on Health Canada's website is set at 200, while according to the World Health Organization it's at 100 Bq/m3. 

"I was really shocked. I thought the meter wasn't reading correctly so I reset it."

That didn't change the results, nor did buying another monitoring device. He decided to test in his basement — the radon gas levels were 40 times higher than healthy levels.

"I immediately opened every door and every window in the house."

Radon is an odourless, invisible, radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soil and water that can seep into homes through small cracks and holes that build up over time. 

It's also the second-leading cause of lung cancer deaths after cigarettes, according to the Canadian Lung Association (CLA). Radon exposure is estimated to be the cause of 16 per cent of lung cancers. 

"It's extremely difficult to heal, so what happens is when we breathe in radon at sufficient levels it damages the DNA in our lungs and leads to genetic mutations," said Dr. Aaron Goodarzi, a professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine.

Kids, he said, are at an even higher risk because they have a longer life expectancy.

Goodarzi, who's also the scientific director of the Evict Radon National Study, said genetic mutations can take anywhere from 10 to 30 years to develop — meaning there's more potential for children exposed to radon to develop lung cancer in their lives.

Radon gas can be found in any home that has contact with the ground; however, rural communities across the country have a 30 per cent increased risk of high levels, according to Goodarzi.