Radon Testing and Mitigation in Moose Jaw

Radon in Moose Jaw gets less attention than in Regina, partly because Moose Jaw wasn't broken out in the 2024 Cross-Canada survey. The most local figure is older: in Health Canada's 2012 survey, 12.7% of the 118 homes tested in the Five Hills health region, around Moose Jaw, were above 200 Bq/m3. That unit is becquerels per cubic metre, a measure of how much radioactivity is in the air.

A regional figure from homes that happened to be tested tells you nothing about your own house, and Health Canada says there are no areas of Canada that are radon-free. The honest first step is a long-term test in the lowest part of the home you live in. It's slow, it's cheap, and it answers the question. If you want help planning it, or a result has already come back high, call (204) 555-0173.

Health Canada calls radon the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and estimates it's behind about 16% of lung cancers, more than 3,000 deaths a year in Canada. For smokers it's the second leading cause. That's the serious part, and it's the reason to test. It isn't a reason to panic.

The Five Hills health region figure above is from 2012, and only 0.8% of those homes were above 600 Bq/m3. Moose Jaw isn't in the 2024 survey's city tables at all. Of the Regina homes tested in 2024, 46.6% were at or above 200 Bq/m3, but that's a different city and the two surveys were run differently, so read it as context for the area, not a forecast for your street or a trend.

200 Bq/m3 is Health Canada's guideline for the average yearly level in the part of the home you use 4 or more hours a day. It's a guideline, not a law: Saskatchewan doesn't require homeowners to test or fix. Above 200, Health Canada recommends corrective action within a year, and below it, there's no level considered risk free. For anyone comparing with US figures, 200 Bq/m3 is about 5.4 pCi/L.

Much of Moose Jaw's older housing near downtown has full basements, and plenty of those are now bedrooms, rec rooms or basement suites. If someone spends 4 or more hours a day down there, that's where the long-term test goes. A crawl space, an unfinished basement, or the furnace or laundry room doesn't count as the normal occupancy area.

Health Canada wants at least 3 months, with 91 days as the minimum in the heating season, and 3 to 12 months is better. Put the detector in the breathing zone, at least 30 cm off the floor and 30 cm from walls, and away from sumps, vents, windows and heat. One Canadian supplier sells long-term kits for $70 before tax.

The Moose Jaw Public Library lends radon detectors from October 1 to April 1, free with a library card. Treat a borrowed monitor as a screening check: a quick first look, not a replacement for the long-term test. If you've recently redone windows, insulation or air sealing in an older house, Health Canada says to test again afterwards.

The usual fix is sub-slab depressurization: a pipe through the basement floor, a fan, and a discharge outside. Health Canada recommends a C-NRPP certified mitigation professional. Certification is voluntary, since no province regulates radon professionals, so look the person up in C-NRPP's online directory. Any sump pit gets sealed, and you test again after the install.

We found no advertised mitigation price for Moose Jaw. The nearest is a Regina installer quoting $2,500 to $3,500, with crawl spaces or multiple suction points costing more, and Winnipeg installers advertise systems from about $1,500 to $3,000. Your number comes from the professional who sees your house; the mitigation cost page has the rest.

The Canadian Lung Association's Lungs Matter program offers up to $1,500 to low- or moderate-income households, but you need a 90-plus day C-NRPP test above 200 and a C-NRPP quote before the work starts, and funding is limited. Lung Saskatchewan has offered reimbursement in the past, so check its site. Lung Saskatchewan also says radon mitigation counts as an eligible expense under the Saskatchewan Home Renovation Tax Credit; confirm with CRA.