Abstract

Radon has been identified as the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking. Since radon in soil is believed to be the main source of radon in Canadian homes, a radon potential index determined from soil radon concentration and soil permeability can be used to describe the indoor radon potential resulting from radon in soil gas. The index increases with increasing radon concentration in soil gas and soil permeability. This study reports detailed measurements of soil gas radon concentrations and soil permeability in a total of 254 sites in five cities, Montreal, Gatineau, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto. Average radon potential indexes were determined for each individual site of five measurement locations. The results provided additional data for the mapping of radon potentials in Canada.

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