Did you know that this is Radon Awareness Week? No, us neither – which may go some way towards explaining why a survey of 2,000 respondents conducted in October 2021 by indoor air quality experts, Airthings, revealed the extent of the lack of awareness of radon and the risks it poses to health.
Nearly four out of five Brits do not know or are not sure about the dangers of radon in a home and fewer than one in ten know that radon exposure can lead to lung cancer.
Each years there are about 20,000 radon-related lung cancer deaths across the Europe.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, exposure to Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is responsible for at least 1,100 deaths in the UK every year; more than three times the number of deaths attributed annually to house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning combined.
High levels of radon can be found in buildings of any type, size or location,with occupants unaware of the potential danger unless it is being monitored.
Wales and the South-West of England are especially at risk of being exposed to high levels of radon, according to a radon map published by Public Health England.
Other parts of the country most likely to be exposed include Cumbria, Newcastle, and Northumberland, whilst areas in Scotland and Northern Ireland are also under threat. Similarly, the Cotswolds was recently dubbed a radon hotspot.
Radon typically enters a building because the air pressure within a building is usually lower than the pressure in the soil and rocks around the building’s foundation.
Radon finds its way in through a process referred to as advection. This is where the gas moves from a point of higher pressure (the ground, soil and rocks) to a point of lower pressure (the building). The difference in pressure causes the building to act as a vacuum, drawing radon in through foundation cracks and other openings. It is at this point that the radon becomes trapped within the building and where the levels can start to build up.
The only way to know whether elevated levels of radon are present is to use a device which monitors radon levels in a property for a period of time.
“We are the market leader in radon and indoor air quality solutions around the world. It is evident from the survey findings that in the UK there is very little awareness of the dangers radon gas exposure has to our health and Airthings is on a mission to change that,” says Oyvind Birkenes, CEO of Airthings, whose company produces monitoring units for radon, particulates, and other air contaminents.
The UK Radon Association has a video from last year’s Awareness week about radon in the workplace:
“Other parts of the country most likely to be exposed include Cumbria, Newcastle, and Northumberland”
They had better update the interactive radon map (not “radiation” as the link above is named…) – Newcastle is showing as the lowest end of the scale (0-1), as are large chunks of the two counties.
According to UKradon, none of us are safe – “Every building contains radon”.
Whoopee doo.
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A scandalous advertorial that should have been vetted before it was published.
Why scaremonger with the supposed European death rate when it is possibly around 1,000 a year in England with Public Health England attributing only around 360 of these deaths to people living in radon gas areas, the remaining sum being based on the “burnt toast” theory (burnt toast may be a cause of cancer – remember the scare?). Unless you live in Devon or Cornwall or the Peak district, the chances of you getting cancer from radon is infinitesimal; the gas is everywhere in the atmosphere naturally.
The only time it is a serious problem – and then it is a problem which should definitely be dealt with – is where your home is on a minute fissure in the granite below and you have an over-insulated building and don’t open your windows very much. Public Health England set a target level of 200 becquerels at which action should be taken which is a very small proportion of properties indeed and in the radon gas counties only proportion are located over granite. The official statistics show that over a lifetime’s exposure there is a 1% risk of death at 200 bqls for a non-smoker if he/she stays 24/7 in their sealed house. If he/she is a smoker, the risk is ten times greater. When radon tests are carried out, you are told to seal the room where the test is carried out which creates an artificially high reading.
Yes, Radon is something to be aware of if you live in the west country or Pennines and I have come across some very high readings in a handful of properties in these areas, but the vast majority of people are much more likely to be run over by a bus than die from radon gas poisoning. In any event, if remedial work is required, most properties (but not all) can be dealt with the installation of a simple and cheap radon vent installed below the floor. All houses built over the last 25 years have radon protection measures in place as a building regs requirement and this should have been stated in the article. A sense of proportion is required.
PS: The Cotswolds a “radon hotspot”! That must make Dartmoor a burning cauldron.!
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A company that sells Radon testing kits is likely to only release the results that make Radon out to be dangerous. This is not honest reporting of the risks of Radon.
Granite worktops are radioactive, but we still use them. Cosmic rays can cause cancer and exposure to rays increase when you go higher in the atosmophere, but we still fly in planes.
The conditions where Radon could potentially become dangerous, basements with no ventilation in the highest Radon areas that are closed for weeks with no vapour barrier, are maybe something more people should be aware of. I’m just saying that the risks are so tiny and that this article should probably be flagged as misinformation.
Rotting potatoes in that same basement will kill the occupant much faster, as would a build-up of plain old carbon dioxide, not to mention carbon monoxide. If you have such a basement, add a window or some ventilation, don’t waste your money on a Radon detector.
You also don’t need to waste your money on exorcisms, dream catchers, or religious ceremonies and artefacts to keep you safe from evil spirits, unless you are a very anxious person and find these meaningless trinkets help you sleep better and are cheaper than therapy.
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