Happy New Year to all our members and radon stakeholders!  As we all shift back into gear after the holidays, we wanted to send out a quick bulletin to remind you of some upcoming deadlines and events.

Insurance Webinar

C-NRPP professionals: don't forget to join us this Thursday, January 23rd as we discuss insurance package options with Adam Thomson of Toole Peet Insurance.  You can sign up for the webinar by clicking here. In preparation for the webinar, please fill out our brief Insurance Survey so that we’re prepared with your general questions.

Call for Nominations

Announcing CARST's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday April 20, 2020, noon PST at the Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, BC.

Each year we hold our AGM during our annual conference.  The AGM is open to all CARST members, and is an opportunity for members to hear about the work that we have been doing on your behalf and ask questions or provide input directly to your board of directors and admin team.  The AGM is also where CARST members vote for their board of directors and any important orders of business.

This year, there will be two long-standing members stepping down and two members of the board up for re-election.  As a CARST member we encourage you to consider putting your name forward for the board of directors.

If you know someone who would make a great candidate for the CARST Board of Directors, now is the time to encourage them to join us. 

Awareness Contest

Are you a CARST member?  Have you done something to help raise radon awareness this radon season?  If so, you're eligible to win a FREE registration to CARST's 2020 Conference in Victoria BC!  Whether you gave interviews, manned a booth, ran an article in the local paper or met with local stakeholders, we want to hear about it.  Fill out the online form to submit your application by clicking here. Contest is open until January 31st 2020 for any activities carried out between November 1 2019 and January 31st 2020.

Real Estate Guideline

• Click here to submit feedback about the Radon & Real-Estate Guideline
• Click here to submit your data with correlated short and long-term test results, 

CARST Programs & Resources

• Radon Reduction Sweepstakes – are you telling your clients about how they can win cash back?  We bet they’ll thank you! Plus find a Communication Toolkit here for the Sweepstakes
• Radon Awareness Contest – have you submitted your entry?  One CARST Member will win a FREE Conference registration.
• The CARST C-NRPP Facebook page: this closed group for C-NRPP professionals is a great place to ask questions or start a conversation!
• C-NRPP Radon Resources – we’ve got some new resources to offer, C-NRPP Gear and more – check them out and place your order online!

Don't forget TakeActionOnRadon Resources: Radon pins, radon window clings, Bookmarks and online tools! 

Upcoming Events

C-NRPP/CARST Program Insurance Discussion January 23, 2020

C-NRPP Radon Measurement and Mitigation Course - Kelowna- January 31-Feb 1

European Radon Week 2020, 24.-28.February.2020, Vienna

CARST March 4, 2020 - Webinar on Radon and Residential Tenancy Discussions

2020 CARST April 18-21, 2020 Radon Conference/Congrès Radon ACSTR -

CRPA Conference June 8-12 2020

International Conference on the Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Industry October 2020

ACSTR/CARST est heureux d'annoncer la publication de la nouvelle norme de la Office des normes générales du Canada, Mesures d’atténuation du radon dans les maisons et petits bâtiments neufs, CAN/CGSB-149.11-2019

Également disponible en anglais:

Radon control options for new construction in low-rise residential buildings, CAN/CGSB-149.11-2019

Please note: this blog will be updated as we receive more questions and as discussion continues.

Several CARST members have been receiving questions regarding Dr. Goodarzi’s recent research, which was publicized by CTV in Calgary in early December.  While the research covers many aspects of radon testing, the focus of the article - and of most of the questions that CARST professionals are receiving – is how this new research may affect CARST’s Guideline for Radon Assessment during a Real-Estate Transaction.

CARST has requested to enter into a data-sharing agreement with Dr. Goodarzi to access the data and be able to analyze it in detail ourselves.  However, based on preliminary analysis, this latest research correlates well with the research on which CARST based our Real-Estate Assessment Guideline at the time it was developed.  The new research helps to emphasize the importance of clear communication regarding the limitations of the assessment test, and the importance of always following-up an assessment test with a long-term test during the heating season as specified in the guideline.

It is important to remember that CARST continues to emphasize the importance of long-term testing.  The Real-Estate Assessment Guideline was developed to provide structure to those wishing to include a radon test as part of a real-estate transaction; a situation that is becoming increasingly common.  

Congratulations to the City of Edmonton on proclaiming November as Radon Action Month and for encouraging Edmontonians to protect themselves by testing for radon gas and by taking action to reduce high levels.

Le PNCR-C a reçu la tarification pour l’assurance obligatoire. Si vous êtes un professionnel du PNCR-C, nous voulons vous entendre ! Jetez un coup d’œil sur la tarification et faites-nous savoir si vous voulez vous inscrire.

Avec ce programme, chaque professionnel du PNCR-C (mesure et/ou atténuation) sera inclus et payera pour la couverture suivante :

Couverture et tarification

responsabilité commerciale générale- $2,000,000 = $350

erreurs et omissions- $2,000,000 = $650

responsabilité de pollution- $100,000 - inclus

prime annuelle totale= $1,000 

Cela fait déjà quelques mois depuis le lancement des Directives sur les évaluations préalables de radon dans le cadre d’une transaction immobilière. Pour l’élaboration et la publication de ce document, nous pensions qu’il était important de demander à vous — nos professionnels — vos commentaires au fur et à mesure que vous implantez les recommandations et que vous voyiez les résultats. Nous avons reçu de différentes questions sur les directives autant des professionnels du PNCR-C que des groups en immobilier partout au pays. 

Il est important de se rappeler l’historique et l’objectif des directives sur les transactions immobilières. L’ACSTR continue de soutenir les directives de Santé Canada sur le radon qui soulignent l’importance d’une mesure de radon à long terme (plus de 90 jours). Dans le contexte de l’immobilier, la situation idéale continue à être si le radon dans la maison à vendre a déjà été mesuré (en utilisant une mesure à long terme) ou si le radon dans cette maison est mesuré durant la première saison de chauffage en utilisant une mesure à long terme une fois que le nouveau propriétaire a pris possession de la maison. Mettre de l’argent de côté pour couvrir les coûts d’un système d’atténuation de radon (si un tel système s’avère nécessaire) devrait faire partie des négociations à la discrétion de toutes les parties concernées à la transaction.

Au cours des dernières années, un nombre croissant de membres de l’ACSTR exprimait leurs inquiétudes sur ce qui arrivait en pratique. Les mesures de radon d’une durée de moins de 48 heures, l’application incohérente des conditions de bâtiment fermées et d’autres disparités ont poussé l’ACSTR à élaborer les directives sur les transactions immobilières.

Les priorités lors de l’élaboration des directives étaient de baser nos recommandations sur les meilleures recherches disponibles, d’offrir une structure claire et cohérente pour toutes les parties concernées tout en promouvant les Directives de Santé Canada. Après trois ans de travail, l’ACSTR a publié les Directives sur les évaluations dans le cadre d’une transaction immobilière, tout en identifiant que nous devons continuer à recueillir les commentaires des professionnels sur le terrain et chercher des études additionnelles.

Pour partager vos données - cliquez ici.

Pour partager votre <<feedback>> concernant les directives en générale, cliquez ici.

Over the last few months, many of you have expressed your interest in joining CARST’s Awareness committee. To kick things off, we’ll be hosting two webinar meetings, one on August 14th and another on August 20th, and everyone is welcome to join. Register for the Awareness Committee meetings here and find the current toolkits below. 

Prior to attending the meeting, we would like your feedback on the current toolkits.  You will have time to share thoughts in the meeting, but it will be helpful to have some feedback ready to start the discussion. 

Pick one or more toolkits to review and provide feedback to us prior to the meeting.  Check out the meeting schedule below, to see which toolkit we will talk about when.

Can't make either meeting?  Your feedback is still valuable- please provide us with your thoughts prior to the meeting date via email at info@carst.ca. 

August 14 - 2pm ADT, 1pm EDT, noon CDT, 11am MDT/CST, 10am PDT.  

• Library/Health Clinics Toolkit
• • Sample letter for Library/Health Clinic to Request to Post information 
  • Radon: Is It In Your Home? (Health Canada)
  • Take Action on Radon (infographic)
  • Do You have high Radon? English
  • Sample Radon Presentation - (Optional: You could use this if you choose to also give an informational presentation in your community during Radon Action Month.)

• Workplaces Toolkit
• • Guide for testing Workplaces
  • Where to test - Workplaces
  • Workplaces and Radon - Post testing infosheet
  • Air Quality Test in Progress labels

August 20 - 2pm ADT, 1pm EDT, noon CDT, 11am MDT/CST, 10am PDT.  

• Childcare Centers Toolkit
• • Guide for testing Child Care Centres
  • Postcard for parents informing them of testing
  • Poster for Child Care Centre 
  • Sample letter to families
  • sample letter low test results - child care centres
  • Tracking Sheet Radon Tests - Child care centres
    

• Municipalities Toolkit
• • Municipalities – What can you do?
    
  • Sample presentation on radon
    
  • RAISING AWARENESS ON RADON- What can you do?
    

C-NRPP is investigating a program for insurance which would provide our professionals with a greatly reduced price for our mandatory insurance.

If you’re a C-NRPP professional, we want to hear from you before we commit to this!

The program would mean every C-NRPP professional, (Measurement and/or Mitigation Professional) would be included and charged for the coverage.

It would provide each professional with: 

Coverage & Pricing

Commercial General Liability - $2,000,000 = $350

Errors and Omissions - $2,000,000 = $650

Pollution Liability - $100,000 - Included

Total annual premium = $1,000

We would like to get feedback from all our professionals and thought a discussion on Facebook may be useful.  As you read in our recent newsletter, we have created a closed Facebook group.   You will need to join and then be able to comment online.  This Facebook group is private and so only C-NRPP professionals will be able to access.

It’s been several months since CARST released the Guideline to Conducting Radon Assessments as part of a Real-Estate Transaction. As part of the process of developing and releasing this document, we felt it was important to gather feedback from you – our professionals – as you implement the recommendations and see results.  In addition, we have received several questions about this from several of you, and from real estate groups across the country and we have provided some information for clarity.

It’s important to remember the history and purpose of the Real-Estate guideline. CARST continues to support Health Canada’s Guidelines regarding radon, which emphasize the importance of a long-term (more than 90 day) test. For real estate, the ideal situation is still one wherein any home that is listed for sale has either been previously tested for radon (using a long-term test), or is tested for radon during the first heating season using a long-term test once the new owner takes possession of the home. Setting funds aside to offset the cost of a radon mitigation system (if one were required) would be negotiated at the discretion of all parties involved in the transaction.

Over the course of the last few years, an ever-growing number of CARST members were expressing concerns over what was happening in practice. Radon tests of less than 48 hours duration, inconsistent application of “closed-house conditions”, and other inconsistencies moved CARST to develop a guideline for real-estate transactions.

The priorities in developing the guideline were to base our recommendations on the best available research, provide a clear consistent structure for all parties involved, and still promote Health Canada’s guidelines. After three years of work, CARST released the Real Estate Assessment Guideline, all the while identifying that we need to continue to gather feedback from our professionals in the field and seek additional research.

Our first method to gather this is to get information from you in the field, if you are using the Real Estate Assessment, we encourage you to keep records and then submit them to us here:

Real Estate Assessment Data Sharing Form

We're also looking for general feedback from you on the Real Estate Assessment Guideline.  If you haven't already completed our survey, please take a moment and click on the following link to do so:

CARST's Radon and Real Estate Survey

What are real estate agents saying about this?

We have been working on communicating our process with real estate agents across the country and here is some of the feedback we have received.

Here is a quote from Real Estate Council Alberta (RECA), "Alberta real estate professionals are trained to inform and advise their buying clients about radon during the buying process. Health Canada recommends basing a decision to mitigate on measurements that are representative of the average annual radon concentrations in a home, such as a long-term test of at least 90 days. Because of this, short-term testing is not recommended by real estate professionals in Alberta during the buying process. For more information go to www.reca.ca and type Radon in the search bar."

We have been discussing the document with the Canadian Real Estate Association.  They are interested in raising awareness on radon and sharing information about their members.  They would like us to focus on long-term testing.

Real estate agents have been growing in awareness on radon, and this has been a great opportunity to provide them with information and presentations on radon.  Our recommendation for you, our members, is to work with your local real estate agents providing locally relevant radon information, asking to provide a presentation to their colleagues and helping them find testing devices and/or services for their past and future clients.