The rock class that seemed to be the most highly correlated with radon gases was volcanic rock. This aligned with results discussed in a paper by Florica where they state that, “such formations include magmatic (e.g., Muntele Mare granite) and metamorphic rocks (micaschists and paragneisses belonging to the Somes¸ terrane), which are known for their higher radioactive potential (Balintoni et al. 2009; Stoici and Ta˘taru 1988)” (Florica, 2020, p. 2663).
One of the primary limitations of this project is that the Yukon inherently has very little data as there are few communities populated enough to provide substantial radon testing. Additionally, many rural communities in the Yukon don’t have available municipal boundary data and therefore could not be included in this project as these boundaries would have been drawn somewhat arbitrarily which would weaken the accuracy and validity of the project.
Another limitation that is a challenge for this field of research is the inherently small sample size. The community of Teslin for example, reported a population of only 122 in 2013 (Yukon Community Profiles, 2014). From this it can be inferred that there are few homes that could reasonably be tested across different geological landscapes. Additionally, only a few communities remain unglaciated and therefore it is difficult to determine an absolute correlation in this data.
Another consideration is that houses may be more likely to be tested if they feel that for some other reason they may be more susceptible to radon gases either due to the land they occupy or health concerns and this may sway the results, as not every house conducts radon testing and it has so far been up to the occupant to acquire a testing kit and to conduct tests.
Ultimately, this is an area that requires lots of future research to see what Yukon geologies affect the release of radon gas and what kinds of mitigation efforts are reasonable in already established settlements. The general data sets also require an update as this lack of municipality data limits the ability for spatial analysis to take place.
These results do show that communities built on volcanic rock landscapes may be at a higher risk of being exposed to radon, as well as communities that have not been glaciated. Future research with an increased sample size could confirm this correlation and help with future mitigation efforts for this pressing health issue in the North.