The Yukon is known to have high levels of radon which is attributed to its bedrock geology (Florica, 2020, p. 2655). Radon can pose a serious health threat to humans and its distribution is mostly affected by geography. Infact, the Canadian Cancer Society reports that, “radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking, accounting for about 16% of lung cancer deaths annually” (Eggerston, 2015, p. 485). Analysis of the distribution of radon in the Yukon has just taken off over the last decade or so and the issue is now more recognized in the community as being something that needs to be studied and addressed.
In recent years, this issue has been more widely acknowledged in the Yukon with increasing numbers of houses conducting tests using at-home kits. In 2017, Alexandra Buyers of CBC News reported on new Yukon regulations surrounding radon testing in daycares. “To protect young children, Yukon is now becoming the first territory, first province for that matter in Canada to make radon testing mandatory in all licensed day-cares” (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2017). This initiative shows the level of concern that the radon issue has caused in the territory and how it has become a priority.
Radon distribution has a strong tie to bedrock geology (Florica, 2020, p. 2655) and therefore its spatial distribution can absolutely be studied using geographic information systems methodologies in order to identify which communities are at a higher risk of radon exposure and how this differentiates across the Yukon. This project aims to do this on a general level to see how radon exposures are distributed across the territory and whether there is a correlation to the bedrock geology and/or historical glacial extents.