Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, responsible for taking the lives of more than 20,000 Americans every year. It’s also a problem elsewhere in the world too. It is also responsible for taking the lives of more than 3,000 Canadians every year.
One of the biggest problems with radon is that most people have no clue it exists. Even worse, a lot of information making the rounds is false. For example, most people believe that radon mitigation is expensive or costly. In terms of health, nothing that ensures you and your family remain healthy and safe should be considered expensive. Furthermore, to put a dollar amount on the procedure it can cost anywhere from $1,000 – $2,000 – which really isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things, at least when it comes to home renovation and improvement.
The Canadian Cancer Society and College of the Rockies are Offering a Radon Training Program
That’s why it’s great news to hear that the Canadian Cancer Society and the College of the Rockies have partnered up to host an exclusive radon training course on measurement and mitigation. The certification course will run a total of five-days, beginning this October. It has been designed specifically for building professionals, home inspectors, construction and renovation workers and those aspiring to enter one of those industries.
Jenny Byford, Health Promotion Coordinator with the Canadian Cancer Society says it’s the first course of its kind to be offered in the area.
“This is the first course of its kind to be offered in the East Kootenays. It’s really going to help the area so that there are trained professionals locally who can provide mitigation to homes that do have levels that are high. The homeowner will have an option that is local and they don’t have to be hiring someone from out of the province or as far away as Vancouver.”
The sad part is, exposure to radon can be easily prevented. It takes long term exposure to cause significant damage to the body. Although, there are no symptoms of radon poisoning and most lung cancer symptoms don’t appear until it’s too late.
“The higher levels that you’re exposed to for long periods of time can increase your risk for developing lung cancer. Radon accounts for about 16 per cent of lung cancer deaths and it is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.”
Radon Training Should Help Boost Awareness
Since radon is odorless, colorless and tasteless the only way to identify its presence is to test specifically for it.
The radon training course will hopefully raise awareness about the problem within the industry. Those who participate will receive a combination of theory and hands-on training for measurement and mitigation procedures. When all is said and done, those who attended will be able to write the National Radon Proficiency Program’s Certification Exam in order to become qualified to perform radon testing and mitigation in Canada homes.
The course will run from October 20 – 24, 2014 but it does depend on interest. In other words, if it does not generate enough interest it won’t be happening. If you’d like to register or find out more about the training you can contact Jenny Byford at Jenny Byford at (250)-426-8916 or [email protected].
Via: The Free Press
