Radon protection for new buildings: A practical solution from the UK

If indoor radon levels are to be significantly reduced across Europe it is essential to ensure that allnew buildings built in areas affected by radon are protected against radon.In the United Kingdom the Building Research Establishment Ltd (BRE) have been carrying outresearch on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) todevelop protective measures for use in new buildings. This work commenced in the mid-1980sand has resulted in the development of a range of practical cost-effective techniques for providingradon protection in new UK buildings. Guidance has been developed in support of the BuildingRegulations for England and Wales. First published in 1991 the technical solutions have beengradually improved in light of experience gained on site. Likewise the areas for which theguidance applies have also been revised in light of radon surveys carried out by the NationalRadiological Protection Board. This continuous process of refinement is scheduled to result in afurther version during 1999.The techniques developed in the UK mainly rely upon passive radon barriers which are low costand simple to install. Even in the worst affected areas of the country, where some 30% of existinghouses have radon levels greater than 200 Bq/m (UK recommended action level), houses withprotection measures regularly result in indoor radon levels close to the 20 Bq/m (UK average forall house types). Radon protective measures are now being installed routinely in many parts of theUK. The cost of installation has reduced as protection has become a matter of routine throughregulation. So that currently radon protection is unlikely to cost much more than 0.25% of thetotal construction cost of a typical UK house.It is our view that many of the techniques developed in the UK could be used directly or withminor modifications in other countries in Europe. This paper describes these latest techniques andapproaches used in the UK to successfully provide radon protective measures.