New research shows radon gas is more prevalent in rural acreages across Alberta than in city homes.
Radon is a harmful radioactive gas that forms naturally when uranium, thorium or radium break down in rocks, soil and groundwater.
A study by University of Calgary researchers reports a link between radon in rural homes based on how close they are to a drilled groundwater well.
“The air around the groundwater well itself is acting as a sort of superhighway,” said Aaron Goodarzi, principal investigator and associate professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
“(The air was) allowing deep underground radon to reach the surface much more quickly than it otherwise would. And the houses in rural communities then have that much more radon to draw inside.”
The study says that, on average, individuals living in rural communities were exposed to 30 per cent higher residential radon levels than those in urban centres.
“Radon is considered the second leading cause of all lung cancers in Canada and globally. It is radioactive, and it emits a type of radiation known as alpha radiation,” Goodarzi said.
Doug Vaessen has more on the report.
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