Changes proposed for NBC to improve radon requirements

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION Volume 14, Number 1, March 2009
Construction Codes

Changes proposed for NBC to improve radon requirements

In June 2007, Health Canada reduced the guideline for acceptable radon concentrations within homes from 800 Bq/m3 to 200 Bq/m3. Even before this announcement, the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) had begun the process of setting up a task group to determine the effectiveness of current building practices in light of this new guideline. The task group determined that houses built according to current code specifications (air barrier below ground, proper sealing, etc.) had adequate resistance to radon ingress.
Given the difficulty in determining areas where radon might be a risk, the task group's proposed solution addresses both large buildings and small buildings. The solution for small buildings would require the rough-in for a future radon exhaust system in addition to a good air barrier system in below-ground assemblies. Proposed changes to the 2005 National Building Code of Canada (NBC) will also restructure existing requirements and make them more effective. These proposed changes will go to public review in September 2009 and, if approved, will be published in the 2010 NBC.
For more information, please contact Frank Lohmann at 613-993-9599, fax 613-952-4040, or e-mail frank.lohmann@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Date Published: 2009-02-28