Niagara Region
Radon testing and mitigation in Port Colborne, Ontario
Port Colborne is a Lake Erie canal town with a working harbour, older neighbourhoods, lakeshore cottages toward Sherkston and growing new subdivisions. Here’s what’s known about radon in Port Colborne, and how to find out about your home.
- Region
- Niagara Region
- Population
- about 20,000
- Public health
- Niagara Region Public Health
- Local factors
- 4 reasons to test
Is radon a problem in Port Colborne?
Radon can exceed Health Canada’s 200 Bq/m³ guideline in any Port Colborne home. No published local data rules any neighbourhood in or out. Across Ontario, about 1 in 8 homes tested at or above the guideline in the 2024 national survey. Locally, shallow or fractured bedrock, cracking clay soils and converted cottages and crawlspaces are reasons to test. A 91-day test is the only way to know your home’s level.
Radon in Port Colborne
Port Colborne is a Lake Erie canal town with a working harbour, older neighbourhoods, lakeshore cottages toward Sherkston and growing new subdivisions. Many homes here are decades old with basements that have been updated over time.
The ground under Port Colborne
Port Colborne sits on limestone close to the surface (the area is known for its quarries), covered in places by glacial lake clay. Thin soils over jointed rock and cracked clay both give soil gas a way in.
Port Colborne’s homes
Older homes near the canal often have block or stone foundations and sumps. Shoreline cottages toward Sherkston sit on crawlspaces. Newer subdivisions bring tighter homes. Any of them can test high, and the fix is different for each.
What the data says
Ontario homes at or above Health Canada’s 200 Bq/m³ guideline in the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey, more than double the share found a decade earlier.Source: Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Exposure in the Residential Buildings of Urban and Rural Communities (2024)
Roughly how many homes per health region the first national survey (2009–2011) could test. Too few to clear any neighbourhood, which is why public maps can’t tell you about your house.Source: Health Canada — Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes, Final Report (2012)
Higher average radon exposure for rural residents than urban residents in a 2024 national study of 42,051 homes, mostly linked to drilled wells.Source: Goodarzi et al., Scientific Reports (2024) — rural communities and drilled-well annuli
Local results
Building a real radon picture for Port Colborne
Public radon data for Southern Ontario towns is thin. The national surveys tested only a handful of homes per area. So we’re building our own: anonymized long-term results from homes we test, published by area once there are at least 30, so no single home can be identified and small samples can’t mislead.
Port Colborne: collecting results. Already tested? Check your number and share it anonymously when you book.
Local factors
What can push radon up in Port Colborne
Not a prediction for any single home, just the reasons a test is worth it here.
Shallow or fractured bedrock
Where rock sits close to the surface, as on the Niagara Escarpment or the limestone plains near Lake Erie, joints and fractures can act as pipelines that carry soil gas toward foundations.
Clay plains
Dense clay slows soil gas, but it cracks in dry spells. Gas then follows the easiest route: the gravel backfill, weeping tile and utility trenches that lead straight to a basement.
Cottages and crawlspaces
Lakeshore cottages converted to year-round homes often sit on crawlspaces, piers or patched slabs. Once winterized and heated, they can start pulling in soil gas they never did as summer places.
Century homes
Fieldstone, rubble and early concrete foundations, earth-floor cellars and open sumps give radon many ways in. Older doesn’t mean safer: these homes still need a test.
Where we work
Port Colborne neighbourhoods and nearby communities
- Downtown & West Street
- Humberstone
- Sherkston
- Gasline
- Wainfleet
Nearby: Radon in Welland · Radon in Fort Erie · Radon in Fonthill
How it works
From test to fix
- Book
Tell us about your Port Colborne home. We reply within one business day.
- Test for 91+ days
A certified technician places long-term detectors on your lowest lived-in floor. You get an early reading at 2 weeks.
- Get your result
Lab-verified average, explained against Health Canada’s guideline.
- Fix it if it’s high
A sub-slab system designed for your foundation, at a fixed price, with results guaranteed.
Questions
Radon in Port Colborne: FAQ
Is radon a problem in Port Colborne?
Radon can exceed Health Canada’s 200 Bq/m³ guideline in any Port Colborne home. No published local data rules any neighbourhood in or out. Across Ontario, about 1 in 8 homes tested at or above the guideline in the 2024 national survey. Locally, shallow or fractured bedrock, cracking clay soils and converted cottages and crawlspaces are reasons to test. A 91-day test is the only way to know your home’s level.
Do you serve Wainfleet and Sherkston?
Yes. We cover Port Colborne, Wainfleet, Sherkston and the Lake Erie shoreline through to Fort Erie.
What if my home has both a basement and a crawlspace?
That’s common in older homes with additions. We usually treat both: a suction point under the slab and a sealed membrane with its own suction over the crawlspace soil, often connected to one fan.
Do you offer radon testing and mitigation in Port Colborne?
Yes. We test and mitigate homes throughout Port Colborne, including Downtown & West Street, Humberstone, Sherkston, Gasline, Wainfleet. Call (226) 271-4667 or book online.
Radon is fixable. First, know your number.
Serving Port Colborne, Welland, Fort Erie and Fonthill.