CARST - Ontario Building Code Update

Ontario Building Code Update

27 Jun 2020 3:06 PM | Erin Curry (Administrator)

There has been a lot of discussion as to whether the radon clauses in the current Ontario Building code would be modified for 2019. For the moment, they will not. As it’s currently written, the Ontario Building Code does allow communities to take action on radon.

You can find the most recent changes to the Ontario Building as they were posted on May 2, 2019: http://www.codenews.ca/. These changes will be implemented as of January 1, 2020. It is our understanding that the sections of the building code that reference radon will not be changed. As a result, it is up to each municipality to determine if they are an area where, “radon gases are known to be a problem”

This provides municipalities with the opportunity and responsibility to determine if they should be implementing radon gas measures. They can refer to SB9 for guidance on the development of their radon gas measures. For those municipalities who are making decisions, many are being proactive by conducting radon surveys. Take Action on Radon has also developed the 100 Radon Test Kit Challenge to support municipalities in this.

Find more details om the TAOR 100 Radon Test Kit Challenge here…. https://takeactiononradon.ca/100-radon-test-kit-challenge/

To date there have been a few municipalities who have created their own program. We have listed the ones we know about below:

Thunder Bay:

https://www.thunderbay.ca/en/city-services/resources/Documents/TB198---Single-Family-Dwelling-16.pdf

Guelph:

https://guelph.ca/city-hall/building-permits-inspections/residential-building-permits/radon/

Central Elgin:

https://www.centralelgin.org/en/business-development/resources/Documents/Radon-Bulletin.pdf

Grey Bruce:

https://www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca/Portals/0/Documents/Publications/General%20Reports/Radon%20Policy%20Statement.pdf

Perth:

https://www.pertheast.ca/en/municipal-services/resources/Building-Dept.-/Radon-Gas-Program.pdf