Rural Ontario man finds high levels of radioactive gas in new home — wants others to check

If it wasn’t for an encounter with a neighbour last summer, Bob Barnes would have never known his recently purchased house also came with extremely high levels of a cancer-causing gas. 

In July of 2023, Barnes purchased and started renovating a property in the Chatham-Kent, Ont., community of Cedar Springs to be closer to his grandchildren.

And one day, while sitting outside on the porch, a neighbour stopped by. 

“[He] said, ‘Are you aware of the radon gas levels out here?’ We had no idea and he said, ‘I have a meter — you are welcome to use it,'” said Barnes.

About 24 hours later, the monitor placed in his