Radon in Woodstock
Woodstock’s growth has been steady for two decades, with new neighbourhoods like Sally Creek and the north and east ends built around a 19th-century core of brick homes.
Woodstock radon guide
Radon in Oxford County
Radon testing and mitigation in Oxford County
Woodstock, Ingersoll and Tillsonburg: manufacturing towns with heritage cores, new subdivisions, and rural homes on wells.
Radon in Oxford County
Oxford County is three towns and a lot of farmland. Woodstock and Ingersoll have grown with the auto plants, adding new subdivisions around 19th-century cores. Tillsonburg draws retirees, with plenty of bungalows. Between them, rural homes and farmhouses rely on private wells.
What’s under the ground
Northern Oxford is till plain and moraine, cut by the Thames valley through Woodstock and Ingersoll, where river sand and gravel run close to the surface. Toward Tillsonburg the ground turns to the northern edge of the Norfolk Sand Plain, among the most permeable soils in the province.
The homes
Oxford County Library lends digital radon monitors free for up to six weeks, a good way to get a first reading. Health Canada is clear that a short reading is a snapshot, though. Decisions about mitigation should rest on a 91-day test, especially in the bungalows around Tillsonburg, where finished basements are often the main living space.
Public health: Southwestern Public Health.
What the data says
1 in 8
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)
6 wks
Free loan period for digital radon monitors through Oxford County Library. Useful for a first look, not a substitute for a 91-day test.Source: Oxford Today — Oxford County Library offers radon monitors for loan
+30%
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 factors
Why Oxford homes should test
Glacial soils with Shield debris
The till and gravel left by glaciers here includes ground-up rock carried south from the Canadian Shield. Uranium travels with it, so radon can form close to your footings even where the bedrock itself is low in uranium.
Sandy or gravelly soils
Sand and gravel let soil gas move freely and over longer distances. More of the radon formed in the ground can reach the air around your foundation instead of decaying in place.
Rural homes on drilled wells
A 2024 national study of over 42,000 homes found rural residents were exposed to about 30% more radon than urban residents, with most of the gap linked to drilled wells. Researchers suspect gas travels up the gap around the well casing.
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.
New, airtight construction
Canadian research shows newer homes have tended to test higher than older ones. Bigger, taller and tighter homes create a stronger stack effect that draws soil gas in through the slab.
Communities
Where we work in Oxford County
Radon in Ingersoll
Ingersoll is a Thames River town with deep roots (and a famous cheese history) and a growing population of commuters to London and Woodstock.
Ingersoll radon guide
Radon in Tillsonburg
Tillsonburg has become a popular place to retire, with many bungalows and adult-lifestyle communities alongside its older town core.
Tillsonburg radon guide
Questions
Radon in Oxford County: common questions
Can I just borrow a radon monitor from the Oxford County Library?
Borrowing one is a good first step. Digital monitors show how radon changes day to day, but six weeks doesn’t span the 3-month minimum Health Canada recommends for a decision. If your borrowed reading is near or above 200 Bq/m³, confirm it with a long-term test before you spend money on mitigation.
Are farmhouses in Oxford County at higher risk?
Rural homes tend to run higher on average. A 2024 national study found rural residents were exposed to about 30% more radon than urban residents, mostly linked to drilled wells. Old farmhouses also often have stone foundations and earth-floor cellars, which give radon easy entry.
Book a radon test in Oxford County
C-NRPP certified testing and mitigation across Woodstock, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg.