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A worthwhile test

These days we hear about all sorts of threats to our health and safety so it’s easy to become complacent or simply tune out the latest, supposedly dire warning about some new risk that you hear in the news. Radon exposure, however, should not fall into this category.

These days we hear about all sorts of threats to our health and safety so it’s easy to become complacent or simply tune out the latest, supposedly dire warning about some new risk that you hear in the news. Radon exposure, however, should not fall into this category.

For one, it’s not new or particularly “trendy.” The radioactive gas has been around as long as the Earth and is naturally occurring. We’ve all been breathing it in to varying degrees our entire lives. It’s only when we are exposed to certain levels that the risk becomes substantial, and a growing body of evidence suggests that this risk can be quite serious, in fact. Radon exposure is now considered to be second only to smoking when it comes to causes of lung cancer.

The problem is, you need to test your house to see just how much radon you are being exposed to on a regular basis, and these tests are time consuming and can be expensive.

Fortunately, as the Rossland News reports today, testing kits are available for free from Golder Associates in Castlegar. This is thanks to the efforts of Dana Schmidt, who lost his wife to lung cancer two years ago. He then founded the Donna Schmidt Memorial Radon Abatement Fund to inform people about the risks and to help people detect radon in their homes.

Around 1,000 test kits have been distributed throughout Castlegar and Schmidt says 46 per cent of Castlegar’s homes are above Canadian standards for radon, making it one of the “hot spots” in the country. Some homes, he said, were measured at 60 or 70 times the standard, posing a substantial risk to residents.

The only way to know for sure if your home contains excessive levels of radon is to get a testing kit. If the cost is prohibitive, Schmidt says you can pick up one for free at his workplace in Castlegar, located at 201 Columbia Ave. They do ask that you make a donation to the fund Schmidt started but the amount is up to you.

This is a kind gesture by Schmidt, an excellent way to honour his wife’s life, and a worthwhile thing for Rossland residents to consider doing for their own well being.

— Rossland News