About Us

Home radon test kits are a valid screening tool when they’re C-NRPP–approved and used  exactly as instructed, but small mistakes in placement and handling can introduce significant measurement error. A passive kit needs to sit for weeks to months in the lowest regularly occupied level, at the correct height above the floor, away from exterior walls, drafts, heat sources, and high-humidity zones; putting it in a mechanical room, on a windowsill, or in a low-use corner can under- or overestimate your true long-term exposure. Professional testing adds controlled device selection (short-term continuous monitors vs long-term devices), standardized placement protocols based on Health Canada guidance, documented chain-of-custody and quality control, and expert interpretation of variability over time, occupancy patterns, and building pressure effects. The result is not just a single number, but a defensible radon exposure assessment that you can confidently use to decide whether mitigation is required and how urgently it should be completed.

Short-term spikes and long-term average radon levels describe two different but equally important parts of your exposure profile. The long-term average (typically over 90+ days and across the heating season) is what correlates with lung cancer risk and what Health Canada’s 200 Bq/m³ guideline is based on—it tells us the true, chronic background level your lungs “see” over years. Short-term continuous testing, on the other hand, reveals how unstable that level is: daily and hourly spikes driven by stack effect, weather changes, furnace and HRV operation, window-opening habits, and pressure differences between soil and indoor air. A home with a “borderline” long-term average but frequent high spikes can present a very different risk profile than one with the same average and minimal variability. Measuring both gives a more accurate picture of worst-case exposure, informs mitigation system design, and provides a stronger technical basis for deciding how quickly to act.

Yes—radon behaves very seasonally in Calgary, but it never truly “turns off.” In cold months, stack effect and building operation work together to pull more soil gas into the home: indoor air is warmer and lighter than outdoor air, creating a stronger upward draft; windows and doors stay closed; mechanical systems run more; and frozen or snow-covered ground can cap the soil surface so radon is preferentially drawn through cracks and penetrations under the house instead of venting harmlessly outdoors. The result is that winter radon concentrations in Calgary homes are often significantly higher than summer levels, sometimes by a factor of two or more. However, each house has its own pressure dynamics, so some properties show less variation or even off-season spikes driven by wind, HVAC, or renovation changes. This is why long-term testing, anchored in the heating season, is recommended: it captures the worst-case average while still accounting for the full annual pattern of radon entry.