EP 45 · 2023-03-20 · 1:05:52
Radon in Atlantic Canada: Why 1-in-4 NB Homes Fails the Safety Standard — and What Contractors Must Know
Jeff LeBlanc of Radon Repair explains why New Brunswick leads Canada in radon levels, how sub-slab depressurization works, and why tighter energy-efficient buildings silently raise every contractor's liability exposure.
JL
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Sponsor intro — Pizzant Building Products and Procore co-brand announcements.0:42Guest intro and Atlantic Building Supplies event — Jeff LeBlanc introduced as NB-based entrepreneur; context for his Halifax visit — Atlantic Building Supplies Dealer Association Expo at Sutton Place Hotel, 750 people at dinner.3:00Origin story: from home inspector to radon specialist — Jeff's pivot: UNB science/math degree, home inspection business, US conference discovery — every second booth about radon — followed by Google research revealing NB has the highest radon levels in Canada.8:00Radon science primer: decay chain, polonium and bismuth — Detailed but accessible explanation: uranium decay to radon (noble gas, breathable), then to sticky polonium and bismuth — the actual carcinogens that lodge in lungs. Stack effect as the entry mechanism — buildings act as vacuum cleaners on the ground.15:00Action levels, building code, and the regulatory gap — Canada dropped residential action level from 800 to 200 Bq/m³ ~10 years ago; commercial OSHA still at 800. Building code rough-in requirements (2010 NBC, NB adopted 2015). ICF foundations, cold joints, sump pits as radon entry points.21:40Testing: passive hockey-puck vs. continuous radon monitor — Health Canada recommends 90-day winter test. Real-estate transactions use 4-day screening assessments. Passive $40-50 devices vs. professional $1,500-2,000 continuous monitors tracking air pressure, humidity, temperature. Short-term tests risk catching a natural low.30:00Mitigation: sub-slab depressurization and system design — Active vs. rough-in systems. Risk of over-sizing fans: house depressurization, back-drafting combustion appliances. Canada mandates diagnostic air-pressure measurement and optimisation; US historically just drills and installs. Canadian mitigation costs 5x US because of engineering. Jeff's work with Momer Homes installing active systems in every new build.38:20Commercial work: schools, banks, and the mandate frontier — All NB (and likely NS) schools already tested and repaired. Banks beginning to test portfolios (tested a small percentage, repairing highs, then rolling out). OSHA standard at 800 — once it drops, a large retrofit market opens. Educating property managers through CARST courses.48:20Growth of Radon Repair and market geography — Company grew from 1 to 5 certified technicians. PEI coverage, Nova Scotia, NB core. Newfoundland gap — no certified mitigators, travel economics require batching jobs. NB statistic: 24.8% of homes above 200 Bq/m³ (Health Canada 2012 study of 14,000 homes).56:40Energy efficiency paradox and association advocacy — Tightening building envelopes increases radon — Jeff flags this connection as underappreciated. CARST (12 years old) working with policy makers; Jeff as VP pushing for OSHA standard alignment. Recommends CARST.ca as the directory for certified professionals.1:02:00Closing and sponsor outro — Jeff's call to action: test your home yourself (CARST.ca or hardware store), use a C-NRPP certified professional to fix it. Cook Insurance and FCA Surety sponsor outro.
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault interviews Jeff LeBlanc, president of Radon Repair (Riverview NB) and VP of the Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (C-NRPP). Over 65 minutes the conversation moves from first-principles radon science — uranium decay chain, polonium/bismuth as the true carcinogens, stack-effect entry mechanics — through practical mitigation (sub-slab depressurization, sizing fans to avoid house depressurization, diagnosing under-slab pressure differentials) to the commercial and regulatory frontier: schools done, banks beginning to test, OSHA standard still at 800 Bq/m³ vs. residential 200, and the near-certain mandate change ahead. Jeff brings a rare combination: science degree (UNB), home-inspection background, seven years hands-on mitigation, and a national-association seat. The episode is the show's best building-science primer and an unusually candid look at the gap between what Atlantic Canadian contractors are installing (rough-in pipes per the 2010/2015 building code) and what will become mandatory when OSHA aligns with residential standards.
// THE LESSONS
See all 12 lessons ▸Tightening a building's thermal envelope for energy efficiency simultaneously increases radon accumulation — the two goals are in direct tension and contractors need to account for both.
“when you increase the Energy Efficiency in a building you increase the radon”
The real carcinogenic hazard in 'radon' is not radon gas itself but its decay products — polonium and bismuth — which stick to lung tissue; understanding the mechanism helps contractors communicate risk credibly to clients.
“radon's not the problem to be honest it's the polonium and bismuth the radon breaks down to”
Canada's residential radon action level dropped from 800 to 200 Bq/m³ roughly a decade ago, effectively quadrupling the number of non-compliant homes; the commercial OSHA standard is still at 800 and is expected to follow — creating a large retrofit wave for contractors who are ready.
“the commercial OSHA standard of 800… once it drops to 200 that would make a big difference”
New Brunswick adopted the 2010 National Building Code radon rough-in requirements in 2015; contractors who understand why — stack-effect sub-slab pressure — install the rough-ins correctly rather than as a box-tick obligation.
“it's part of the 2010 building code of Canada… in New Brunswick they adopted that in 2015”
Over-sizing a sub-slab radon fan can depressurise the house enough to back-draft combustion appliances and blow out pilot lights; Canadian practice mandates measuring and optimising differential pressures before specifying fan size — a discipline the US radon industry is only beginning to adopt.
“you can depressurize your home… cause back-drafting… combustion appliances… blow out pilot lights”
Real-estate transactions create a structural demand for 4-day radon screening assessments even though Health Canada recommends 90-day tests — operators who offer both services (screening + long-term follow-up) capture the transaction trigger and the remediation lead.
“they don't have 90 days due diligence… we do have a guideline that we can do a four-day screening assessment”
Footing compartments under a concrete slab block sub-slab airflow; a proper mitigation system must cross those footings with sleeves — knowledge that requires coordination with concrete contractors during the pour, not after.
“footing compartments will stop airflow moving… I need sleeves the footings… get my pipes in there”
Building a niche specialty trade business alongside busier existing businesses requires deliberately deciding when to redirect attention — Jeff ran radon as a one-person percolating side for six years before the inspection business wound down, then scaled to five technicians rapidly.
“I did focus on my other businesses… the child that needed the attention at the time… now we have five”
Sitting on a national trade association board as a practitioner accelerates both regulatory intelligence and market development — Jeff's CARST VP role gives him early visibility on policy changes that directly affect his business pipeline.
“I'm the vice president of CARST… we're going to support whoever wants to get into this”
Government bodies (schools, post offices, border controls) are the first commercial clients for new environmental health services because they have compliance mandates; the downstream market for private commercial buildings follows once awareness spreads through their employees.
“government bodies are the first ones the natural ones to do it… I educate them right so it's another in the awareness”
Testing where occupants actually breathe — not at the sump pit, which reads highest — is a discipline Canadian C-NRPP certification enforces; this protects the mitigator's credibility and prevents artificially inflated remediation scopes.
“as a radon mitigator and getting paid to fix it the sump is the best block to test… but that's not reality”
Installing fans and pipes inside the conditioned space (Canadian practice) rather than externally (US practice) prevents freeze-up in Atlantic Canadian winters — a regionally specific technical detail contractors must know when specifying or inspecting radon systems.
“at -30 it's just gonna freeze up right we got lots of humidity in those pipes”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Story · 3:00
“it was interesting like I said I didn't know anything about it six or seven years ago”
Framework · 4:31
“so I went home started Googling and get on the machine and realized that New Brunswick has the highest levels”
Framework · 6:09
“so radon is a natural gas so when you look at a radioactive material it breaks down”
Framework · 13:38
“so that's the problem is when we're in a building or a home we tighten it all up”
Framework · 19:02
“if you could picture our house like a chimney right it's basically a chimney”
Hot take · 26:54
“there's warnings that I have in that you can cause other problems by trying to fix your radon problem”
Hot take · 28:27
“so in Canada we are mandated when we fix a home to take air pressure differentials”
Hot take · 29:56
“our prices on our radon mitigations are probably five times higher than theirs in Canada”
Framework · 33:57
“the typical test what Health Canada recommends is a long-term test 90 days or more”
Framework · 36:32
“real estate transactions people test their water in their house when they buy a real estate”
Story · 40:34
“so right now a lot of it tends to be government bodies right so in New Brunswick every school has been tested”
Story · 49:06
“one of the banks that we did was old like over 100 years old”
Hot take · 1:00:39
“we're focused on energy efficiency right in our homes and buildings and that's a good thing”
Framework · 1:02:48
“so yes I'm radon repair right we fix houses we'd love to fix everyone's house”
All 12 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
New Brunswick adopted the 2010 National Building Code radon rough-in requirements in 2015.
Confirmed: the 2010 NBC radon rough-in requirement was adopted by NB as of January 2015. This is a well-documented fact corroborated by multiple government sources.
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Radon Repair ▸Jeff LeBlancCanadian Association of Radon Scientists and TechnologistsMoeMar Homes ▸Kansas State University — Regional Radon Training Center
// PROJECTS NAMED
Moncton High School (new build)Atlantic Building Supplies Dealer Association Expo
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · WgTcQlAIFSU