What is radon?
Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas that is created by the decay of radioactive uranium that occurs naturally in rocks and soil, and in particular building materials and water. This is notably, for some people, the single largest source of radiation exposure they will have, either at home or at work. The main risk of high long-term exposure to this gas, is an increased risk for potential health issues.
In open spaces, radon mixes with air, diluting it. However, this air containing the radon can also find its way into your home or workplace through gaps such as cracks in flooring or the spaces around ground and service pipes. The only way to identify if radon is present is by testing. North Kesteven District Council are not undertaking such tests at this time, and if you want to arrange this you can do so with a private contractor.
Some areas have higher potential risk levels that others, and it may be worth checking whether you live in a higher or lower risk area. Public Health England (PHE) has designated the most radon-prone areas as ‘Affected Areas’, which is defined as areas with a greater than 1% chance that a household has radon levels above the PHEs ‘Action Level’ of 200 Bq per cubic metre as an annual average. The PHE emphasises that even below this ‘Action Level’ there is still a risk to health and simple remediation measures should be implemented. If you do have private testing undertaken and remedial work is identified, please contact us directly.
In December 2018, the Public Health England published a UK National Radon Action Plan detailing the requirements the 2013 European Union Basic Safety Standards Directive set out for the protection against ionising radiation (EURATOM, 2013a). In this strategy, it stipulates that Action levels must fall below 200Bq per cubic metre for an average per year, with a ‘Target Level’ of 100Bq per cubic metre on average per year. This is to be achieved using building remedial and repair actions and the use of radon maps to support decision making.
What North Kesteven District Council has done
Landlords have a responsibility to their tenants to provide a safe home. Within the Housing Act 2004, radon is identified as a potential Hazard in dwellings and landlords have a duty to act if the level of radon exceeds that which is defined as the ‘Action Level’.
North Kesteven District Council are continuing to carry out stock condition surveys on your properties to assess the condition of all the components both in and of your home. For example, the condition of your walls and flooring and any equipment that is currently in place to mitigate radon exposure. It is essential that you allow access for the inspection for your home so these checks can be undertaken.
Considering hotspot areas and historical testing, some homes had equipment installed to improve air circulation. If you have any equipment in your property for radon mitigation, such as sump pumps or ventilation systems, please make sure they are in good working order. If they are in poor condition, faulty or broken, please contact the Repairs and Maintenance Team to report these issues.
To contact the Repairs Team, call on 01529 414155
Domestic and commercial new builds
For new developments, it is the Building Control team that are responsible for Radon mitigation. Radon is not a contaminate that we review on contaminated land sites. Building Control have access to the radon maps and geological maps for radon prediction and they ensure new developments are Radon safe.
What you can do
If you would like to know the level of radon within your home, you can order a do-it-yourself radon test kit to test yourself or you could hire a licensed professional to perform the test.
For further information, visit the UKradon website.
Once you have completed the test, please notify the council on your findings so that we can record them and look at any support that we can provide, depending on the results.
Where to report the findings
To report your radon results, email North Kesteven District Council on contractandcommissioningteam@n-kesteven.gov.uk or call on 01529 414155
For general information about radon, visit our Environmental Protection Radon webpage.