Archived Letter - 902

Dear Editor:

RE: 'Hidden Quarry' blasting could lead to higher radon levels: CRC

I am aghast at James Dick Construction's spokesperson, Greg Sweetnam's reply of "Show me the bodies" to Eramosa Township's Concerned Citizen Coalition's concerns with the potential health effects of higher levels of radon gas entering houses in close proximity to the proposed Hidden Quarry.

As detailed on the Health Canada website, radon is a radioactive gas which is formed naturally by the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. It is known that exposure to high levels of radon in indoor air increases the lifetime risk of developing lung cancer. In Canada, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking. In Canada, radon  exposure is estimated to have caused  1,900 lung cancer deaths in 2006 (16% of all  lung cancer deaths).

For Mr. Sweetnam's information, the Health Canada guideline for radon in indoor air is expressed in units of radioactive activity (Becquerel's) per cubic meter of air, not in terms of "bodies stacked like cordwood around existing (or proposed) quarries in Ontario."

Dave Rodgers    
Aberfoyle, ON

Dave Rodgers