November TAOR Newsletter

Welcome to November 2020! Of course, it’s been said before that 2020 is a year like no other, however when it comes to radon awareness, we think there’s a more positive feel to it. Prior to March 2020, we were seeing more groups engage in radon then ever before and this November, it seems like all that interest has continued.

In our last newsletter, we mentioned the significant recognition that Health Canada’s Radiation Protection Bureau received for their radon program. This ties into the vision of one of CARST’s Arthur G Scott/Lifetime Achievement award winners, Dr. Jack Cornett. The unique approach that the Radiation Protection Bureau took to radon awareness efforts was to engage with stakeholders and to enable various groups to talk and work together in radon awareness. We are certainly seeing that vision bear fruit this year as more groups step forward to raise their voices in the ongoing effort to raise radon awareness.

The Take Action on Radon stakeholder network continues to be a key part of this vision. As an initiative funded by Health Canada with the goal of engaging and supporting stakeholders, we want to encourage all of you to make the most of all the opportunities your role provides this November in reaching out and sharing radon information any way you can.

Ask the Experts! Join us for a Live Panel Discussion

Increased media coverage and the combined efforts of all radon awareness programs means that most of us are receiving more calls from Canadians these days, asking tough questions about radon.

Why haven’t we heard of radon before? Why aren’t radon detectors available free of charge? Where exactly should we place the radon detector?

To take advantage of this surge of interest, and to delve a little deeper into some of the tough questions, we’ve assembled a team of radon experts who will join us for a live discussion November 19th. This webinar is aimed at the Canadian public, and is meant to be a resource to help you limit those long conversations answering questions. It will be available to view through Zoom or Facebook live. We’re currently accepting questions ahead of time here, and signup is available through the same portal.

Please encourage anyone who might be interested to attend – those who sit in on the live broadcast will be eligible to win prizes!

Radon Resources for an Expanding Network

As we engage a growing number of Canadians with our combined radon awareness efforts, two key messages keep returning:

Keep the message simple. If we want people to test, we need to make it straightforward. We’ve tried to emphasize simplicity with this year’s resources.

Make it accessible: although English and French are our official Canadian languages, we have many other languages in our country! We’ve begun to offer some key messaging pieces in a variety of common languages to help all Canadians realize that our message is meant for them too!

Health Canada Postcard Initiative
November’s outreach campaign is very similar to the postcard that was sent out in January 2020, but edits have been made based on feedback received from Canadians and stakeholders alike. Approximately 1.6 million postcards will be delivered to homes in areas where 10 – 15% of homes are estimated to be above the Canadian Guideline. These homes were identified using data from Health Canada’s 2012 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes and the Radon / Thoron Survey in Canadian Metropolitan Areas.

The information below is the number of homes that are receiving the radon postcard in each Province / Territory:

British Colombia: 25,926
Alberta: 310,074
Saskatchewan: 44,514
Manitoba: 11,023
Ontario: 418,107
Quebec: 636,857
New Brunswick: 68,903
Nova Scotia: 72,438
Newfoundland & Labrador: 18,192

The postcard directs Canadians to visit Canada.ca/radon and https://takeactiononradon.ca/. Health Canada is setting up a temporary Radon Action campaign page that was active November 1. Service Canada’s phone number is also listed on the postcard and messaging had been provided to Service Canada about Radon, with direct contact numbers for each region’s Health Canada Radiation Specialist for further questions and/or to assist with purchasing a long-term radon test.

If you have any questions, please contact us at hc.radon.sc@canada.ca

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