Radon testing and mitigation for Calgary homes

Is radon a problem in Calgary?

Yes, often enough that every home is worth testing. The 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Exposure put about 1 in 6 Calgary-area houses at or above 200 Bq/m³, with an average of 102.5 Bq/m³source. A University of Calgary-led study published in 2017 had found about 1 in 8 among 2,382 homes tested in Calgary and areasource. Dr. Aaron Goodarzi of the University of Calgary has described the Okotoks and Foothills area, just south of the city, as among the most radon-exposed regions observedsource.

Radon forms naturally as uranium in soil and rock breaks down, and it has no colour, smell or tastesource. Health Canada identifies it as the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smokedsource. What turns a regional fact into a household one is the building: its foundation, its openings to the soil and the way it is heated. Two houses on the same street can test very differentlysource, which is why nobody can read your level off a map or off your neighbour's report. Our summary of the Calgary research goes through the studies one by one.

What does Calgary Radon Pro do?

We measure radon, explain what the measurement means, reduce it when it is high and measure again. The work is carried out by Plinio Neto, who holds two personal certifications from the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program: C-NRPP Radon Measurement Professional (CRT-202965) and C-NRPP Radon Mitigation Professional (CRMT-202966).

The two main pages are radon testing in Calgary and radon mitigation in Calgary. The full list, including services for landlords, builders and realtors, is on our services page.

How does the process work?

In four steps, and the first one decides whether the others are needed at all.

1. Test. Health Canada recommends a measurement lasting three to twelve months, never shorter than 91 dayssource, and asks that 91 days or more of it fall in the heating seasonsource. In Calgary that makes autumn the natural time to begin.
2. Understand. The result is an average in Bq/m³. We set it beside the guideline and tell you what it calls for: nothing, another test, or a system.
3. Fix. If the result is high, the foundation is assessed and a system is designed for it. Health Canada notes that installation usually takes less than a day and that most homes see radon fall by more than 80%source.
4. Confirm. A short verification reading shows the system is working, and a long-term test with an independent laboratory kit, placed and mailed by you, confirms the result. We don't grade our own work.

Many households stop after step two, because their result is low. That is a good outcome, and it is the reason we would rather sell a test than a system nobody has shown to be necessary.

What do recent installs in Calgary look like?

Like this: a grey or black pipe rising from the basement floor, a white fan on the pipe and a small gauge beside a red label. These three systems went into a utility room, an older basement with a concrete foundation wall and a finished basement room.

What does my radon result mean?

Health Canada's guideline is 200 Bq/m³ as an annual average, the level above which it recommends corrective actionsource. Homes above it should be fixed within a year, and more quickly when the result is highersource. No level is considered risk-free, so lower is better on both sides of the line.

These bands are our shorthand; the one official line is at 200 Bq/m³. For the comparison with American and World Health Organization figures, and for results reported in pCi/L, see radon levels and the Canadian guideline.

When is the right time to test?

Now, if the furnace is running and you have never tested. Beyond that, a few moments in the life of a house call for a fresh measurement:

• You have just moved in, whatever a short test during the purchase showed.
• The basement is about to be finished, or has become a bedroom, an office or a rental suite.
• Windows, the furnace or the ventilation system have been replaced, or an addition has been built.
• A mitigation system was installed and its first winter is coming up.
• Your last result is several years old or came from a test of only a few days.

What does a mitigation system cost?

It depends on the house, and the differences are explainable. The foundation type, the number of suction points, the length and route of the pipe, whether the basement is finished and the electrical work for the fan are what move a quote up or down. Health Canada puts the cost in the same range as other common home repairssource. We publish our ranges and what they include on the Calgary cost page, and the cost calculator narrows the range for your foundation before anyone visits.

Which tools can I use right now?

Three, all free and all running in your browser.

• Result checker: enter the number from a report or a monitor and see where it sits against the Canadian, American and WHO references.
• Unit converter: switch between pCi/L and Bq/m³, with a table of common values.
• Cost calculator: describe your foundation and get the price range that applies.

If you would rather run the first test yourself, our page on radon test kits in Calgary explains which kind to buy and how to place it.

Is there a radon map of Calgary?

There are maps of regional trends, and none that can tell you the level in a particular house. Radon depends on the soil directly beneath a building and on the building itself, so a colour on a map describes likelihood at best. Our Calgary radon map and risk guide gathers what published research shows for the city and the towns around it, explains what an address lookup can and cannot do, and will carry our own aggregated test results by area once there are enough of them to mean something.

Which areas do you serve?

We work across Calgary, in all four quadrants (NW, NE, SW and SE), and in Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks and Chestermere.

• Radon testing and mitigation in Airdrie
• Radon testing and mitigation in Cochrane
• Radon testing and mitigation in Okotoks
• Radon testing and mitigation in Chestermere

Acreages and rural properties around the city can have wells, crawl spaces or additions on separate foundations, and each of those changes how a home is tested and how a system is designed. If you are outside the places named here, send your location with the form and we will say plainly whether we can come to you. All areas are listed on the service areas page.

Who writes and reviews this site?

The content is written by Daniel Rocha Sales and reviewed for technical accuracy by Plinio Neto, the partner who performs the testing and installation. Health Canada recommends hiring professionals certified by C-NRPPsource, and you can look up his certifications yourself in the C-NRPP directory.

Our rule for the text is the same as for the work: measured, not guessed. Health statements, numbers and regulations are taken from Health Canada, the World Health Organization or published research, and the sources are listed at the bottom of each page. Where something is uncertain or varies from house to house, we say so. More about how we check facts is on the about page.

What will you not hear from us?

A few things that are common in this trade and that we think do homeowners a disservice.

• That your neighbourhood is fine, or that it is bad. Nobody knows your level until your home is tested.
• That a system will bring you to a particular number. We can tell you what is typical and then measure what happened.
• That a result just under the guideline means there is nothing to think about. It means action is optional.
• That you need a system on the strength of a two-day reading, unless that reading is very high.
• That radon is causing how you feel today. Its known effect is a long-term one.

What should I know if my home is new?

That it still needs a test. University of Calgary researchers found that radon in new Canadian houses has been climbing since about 1980source. Alberta's building code requires new homes to include a radon rough-in with a pipe stubsource, and many owners take that capped pipe for a working system. It is a provision for one. If your long-term result is high, the stub usually shortens the installation.

Where should I start reading?

• How to test your home for radon, step by step.
• Why November is the month to start a test.
• Is radon a problem in Calgary? The research in one place.
• How to choose a radon contractor, with questions to ask.
• What you can and cannot do yourself to lower radon.
• Radon levels explained, including results in pCi/L.
• How mitigation works in Calgary homes, from assessment to confirmation.

Or skip the reading and send a request. Tell us whether you have a test result, what kind of foundation the house has and roughly when it was built, and the first reply will already be specific to your home.

Short general questions are answered in our radon FAQ, longer ones in the guides, and the contact page lists what to include when you write.