Students! Test your radon skills & you could win Beats headphones

November 29, 2023

Students in grades 4-12 in the Interior region have a chance to win Beats headphones by answering radon skill testing questions

Do you have a student in your life who’s interested in science, health or writing – or all three?

BC Lung Foundation and Interior Health (IH) have partnered together to launch our first-ever Radon Skill Testing Contest for students in grades 4–8 and 9–12. 

This skill testing contest aims to increase awareness of the health risks associated with radon. Students can answer one, or up to four, skill testing questions about radon for a chance to win Beats on-ear headphones, Beats wireless ear buds, or an Alpha Track radon test kit.

Radon is more prevalent in the Interior region than in the rest of B.C. It’s a radioactive gas that accumulates in indoor spaces, and long-term exposure can cause lung cancer. The only way to know how much radon you could have in your home, work or leisure indoor space is to test.

“Not only do we want students to take an interest in this important topic, we want parents and guardians, teachers and school staff to take note too,” says Dr. Silvina Mema, Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer at IH. “We want people to test for radon in their own homes.”

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Who can enter

Radon skill-testing questions & posters

The only way to know your radon levels is to test

Who can enter

The contest is open to students in grades 4–12 whose primary residence is in the Interior Health region, including students in public, independent and First Nations schools, as well as home schooled students. It’s on now until Jan. 31, 2024.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Interior Health to spread awareness about radon,” says Noah Quastel, Director, Law and Policy, Healthy Indoor Environments at BC Lung Foundation. “Canadians spend 90 per cent of their day indoors, with about 70 per cent at home and 20 per cent at work or school. The air we breathe indoors can contain particulates, allergens, fumes and gases – including radon – that can significantly impact our health in both the short and long term.”

Radon skill-testing questions & posters

Students can answer up to four different skill testing questions, in a maximum of 300 words per submission, for a chance to win a prize. The contest period coincides with Radon Awareness Month, which is November of every year. 

Teachers and staff, download extra high-resolution posters for your school and classrooms. (Packages were sent to schools in early November.)

How do you conduct a radon test? Download the poster.
What can be done to address high radon levels? Download the poster.  
How does radon enter a building? Download the poster.
Where are high levels of radon found in Canada? Download the poster.

Get all the contest details.

The only way to know your radon levels is to test

Health Canada places the lifetime risk of getting lung cancer at the Canadian guideline of 200 Becquerels/m³ at one in 50 people, a far greater risk than that imposed from exposure to substances and carcinogens that are nationally regulated. Add smoking to the mix and the risk greatly increases. 

“Daily, nine radon-related lung cancer deaths occur in Canada, many in locations with less radon prevalence than the B.C. Interior," says Greg Baytalan, specialist environmental health officer at IH. "And the only way to know how much radon is in your home, work and indoor leisure space is to test.”  

Learn more about radon gas and testing