Editor:
The March 28 issue of Coast Reporter contains an article “Garage to dwelling conversion prompts conversation” and quotes Sechelt’s senior development planner: “The building permit entails several things, not the least of which is coming up with a means to mitigate radon infiltration into the space and having the life-safety systems in place.”
The life-safety system Mr. Baker is referring to is an extra cost to the owner which in my professional opinion is not justified. It is either a means to remove gas from a basement with piping and fan or more often an airtight barrier placed before the slab pour and prevents radon gas from the ground from leaking through the porous concrete. This is part of the building envelope which is defined as the physical barrier that separates the conditioned interior space of a building from the external environment.
I am a retired safety engineer and some of my government safety work consisted of testing for radon gas. Radon is not a safety issue for a large area of B.C., including the Sunshine Coast, and only becomes a problem in the Interior. Greater sampling is always encouraged, and communities are advised to apply for radon test kits. This is a 100-day test and all costs including testing are free. The community would absorb the cost of administrating.
Rather than emphasizing radon gas, Sechelt should be paying attention to earthquake mitigation. Research shows this is a much more serious problem than previously thought, as described in the CBC story “Fault line under Strait of Georgia could cause 6.0 earthquake off Sunshine Coast, research finds.” The lead researcher, Reid Merrill, is quoted in the article as saying city planners in Nanaimo and Sechelt can use the findings about this earthquake when selecting new building sites. At various times I have explained to the engineering department, council and the planning department, mistakes in design work related to dwellings on top of stacked rock walls which put the public at risk in the event of an earthquake, with no results.
D. Trotter
