Steve Payne
Mike Holmes calls for mandatory radon gas testing in Ontario
Canadian Contractor"I am asking all Ontarians to push for this change to the Residential Tenancy Act."
Press release about radon gas testing, from Mike Holmes, via Canada News Wire. As you will note below, there was a deadline in this press release for Ontario residents to email the government by June 30th. We apologize for the delay in publishing this, as far as that process goes, but we believe the message is still important.
TORONTO, June 29, 2016
Mike Holmes is asking all Ontario residents to support mandatory radon testing on all basement rental units, and for Premier Wynne to incorporate it into the Residential Tenancy Act.
Mike Holmes has worked in the building trades for over 30 years, helping improve the quality, livability and safety of homes.
“I’ve been doing this for a really long time,” states Mike Holmes. “One thing I’ve learned is that sometimes it’s the things you can’t see that end up causing the most harm—things like radon.”
According to The Lung Association, Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Approximately 850 people die in Ontario every year due to radon. Basement rental units are more susceptible to accumulating high levels of radon because radon is a heavy gas, and as such, it tends to collect in the lower levels of a home, such as the basement.
The only way to know if a home or rental unit has a radon problem is to test for it. Currently in Ontario there is no obligation for landlords or homeowners to test for radon; however, Ontario recently opened for consultation updates to the Residential Tenancies Act, which could make it mandatory to test for radon gas in basement rental units.
Ontario residents wishing to support this change must send their message of support to residential.tenancies@ontario.ca by June 30th, 2016. “Radon testing protects people—it’s that simple,” added Holmes. “I am asking all Ontarians to push for this change to the Residential Tenancy Act and make radon testing mandatory on all basement rental units. This is something we can do and we can save lives. Let’s make it right.”
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Funny I do not recall seeing this as a standard practice of Holmes on Homes TV show? Perhaps it is should only be mandatory when someone else is forking the bill….. probably what all homeowners, landlords,and renters who do not want to see anything else that puts the cost of renting further out of reach think.
I better approach would be to develop a liner that would not only prevent the migration of radon gas but make basements and crawl spaces 100% water proof.
“Approximately 850 people die in Ontario every year due to radon. ”
Really. Who has determined that? In other words, what’s the evidence? If this was the Lung Asssociation saying that, demand they produce the evidence.
We are not really interested in interrogating the Lung Association re: their statistics on lung disease mortality and causes. We have a lot better things to do with our time.
we had some random Radon Gas testing in Whistler BC 30 years ago or more. Not a problem there
Yeah Holmes has looked around the industry and found something to dig his claws into.
Radon mitigation is coming to be part of the building code and Holmes wants his share of the pie/recognition.
It’ll be new home builders and government agencies that drive this forward and not a tv drama star.
Perhaps Holmes should take a break from slamming everyone ,self promoting himself and say something relevant about training,education and safety…but then he’s not really trained,educated or safe.
Cmon Shell Busey, time to jump in a wax lyrical about Holmes.
Hi, Need a quick solution to prevent 95% of Rn222 from entering into homes? I have sealed homes chosen by CMHC having very high levels, such as one home had a level up to 64 picocuries. I am willing to share my discoveries and the basic technolohy I used to seal these homes. If you would like letters of confirmation, you now have my E-Mail, I know that Radon kills over 21,000 people a year in North America by causing lung cancer and I want this to stop. Of all my research projects, Radon has been at the top of my list. My technology was used in Chernobyl during three trips with success, Willy