Employers who only occupy parts of buildings from the first floor and above are less likely to have significant radon levels than those on the ground floor or below. Underground workplaces such as basements, cellars, mines, caves and utility industry service ducts can have significant levels of radon as can any above-ground workplaces, mainly in radon Affected Areas. The ' indicative atlas', which shows the worst-case radon potential for each 1 km grid square is freely available on the UKradon website.Īll types of indoor workplace including factories, warehouses, offices, shops, schools, hotels, nursing homes, residential care homes and health centres can have high radon levels. Locations with elevated radon potential are called 'Affected Areas'.Įmployers and householders may consult the definitive dataset on the UKradon website to see if their premises are in one of these areas (a small fee is charged). PHE and the British Geological Survey (BGS) have produced a radon potential map of the UK by combining the results of measurements in houses with maps of the underlying geology. Public Health England (PHE) has conducted radon measurements in more than 600,000 dwellings and workplaces. Breakdown of the average UK radiation dose in 2010 by source of exposure Workplaces which may be affected The average indoor concentration in the UK is 20 Bq/m3.Ĭontributions to the average UK annual radiation dose (from PHE-CRCE-026 Ionising Radiation Exposure of the UK Population: 2010 Review. Radon is measured in units of becquerels per cubic metre, Bq/m3 (the concentration of radioactivity in air). It also showed that the risk from radon is approximately 25 times higher for tobacco smokers than for non-smokers. A recent study which pooled the results of 13 European case-control epidemiological studies of people exposed to radon at home ( Darby et al, 2005) has confirmed the risks and refined their accuracy. Radon contributes by far the largest component of background radiation dose received by the UK population (see chart below) and, while the largest radon doses arise in domestic dwellings (due to the longer time spent there), significant exposures occur in some workplaces.Įpidemiological studies on occupational groups with known high exposure to radon show a significantly increased risk of lung cancer. Lung cancer is also the most common cause of cancer related death in the UK with a 10-year survival rate of 5%. Radon is now recognised to be the second largest cause of lung cancer in the UK after smoking. Some of these decay products emit particularly hazardous radiation called alpha particles, which cause significant damage to the sensitive cells in the lung. These solid decay products, which may attach to atmospheric dust and water droplets, can then be breathed in and become lodged in the lungs and airways. However, the decay products of radon (radon daughters or progeny) are solid materials and are themselves radioactive. Most radon gas breathed in is immediately exhaled and presents little radiological hazard. This is untrue and, as shown on the map above, many parts of the country have high radon levels. Since granite contains relatively high levels of uranium many people think that it is only granite areas of the UK, such as the South West of England, that have high radon levels. Radon (more properly known as radon-222) comes from uranium which occurs naturally in many different types of rocks and soils. High concentrations are also found in some buildings because warm air rising draws radon from the ground underneath buildings to enter through cracks and gaps in the floor. The highest levels are usually found in underground spaces such as basements, caves and mines. The ground is the most important source as radon can seep out and build up in houses and indoor workplaces. Radon is a colourless, odourless, radioactive gas that occurs in rocks and soils, some building materials and water. Indicative map of radon affected areas in the UK What is radon? Practical control of radon levels in buildings.Legal requirements for workplaces – risk assessment.Under UK regulations all employers must review the potential radon hazard in their premises. However, radon hazards are simple and cheap to measure and relatively easy to address if levels are high. Breathing in radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the UK resulting in over 1000 fatal cancers per year. The radioactive gas radon is a hazard in many homes and workplaces.
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