Have you tested your home for radon?

[RAW22]

I've NC'ed for this as it's massively outing to anyone who knows me but am a regular user.

Wondering how many people are aware of radon and/or have ever tested their home. I'm involved in this field professionally and one of the most common questions clients ask is "why hasn't anyone the government ever told us about this?". I found out about it when I graduated and happened to get a job with a company who dealt with it and I've spent the last 15 years trying to raise awareness as I think it's shocking more people aren't aware.

It's the leading cause of lung cancer in non smokers and responsible for over 1100 deaths in the UK every year. It's easy to test your house and costs around £40.

This week is UK Radon Awareness Week and today the campaign was focusing on families, so I thought this was a good place to share the information. Thursday will focus on schools which is a whole other issue - there are currently tens of thousands of children (and staff) being exposed to high levels in schools because the necessary risk assessments haven't been done. Worth asking your children's schools if they have done their risk assessment!

Happy to answer any questions on the subject.

Radon has no smell, taste it colour so it's impossible to tell how much is in a properly unless you've tested.

Basements are at higher risk for two reasons: 1 - more surface area in contact with the ground through which the gas can permeate in, and 2 - basements usually have lower air pressure than ground floors and this is the mechanism by which the gas is drawn in from the ground.

A well ventilated cellar/basement may not have an issue but it's impossible to know. Certain methods of waterproofing (tanking) can cause increased concentrations at ground floor level as it displaces the radon behind the membrane system and it's released at ground floor, so it's always best to test both the basement and ground floor room above.

Not worry about but certainly bear in mind. The need to consider radon is contained in the Code of Practice for below ground waterproofing that your builder / their specialist subcontractor should be following. Many of them conveniently gloss over that requirement as it can make things slightly trickier so it's worth looking out for and quizzing them about what they've included.

I vaguely remember this cropping up on our searches when we moved last year, ours was low and on the map we’re in the less than 1% bracket.

Have checked the rest of my family’s addresses though and they’re all in the 3-5% areas.

What would you recommend I say to them? My mum just moved into a new build so I’m hoping that’s ok, but my sister and dad live in older homes.

Yes, we are in Cornwall.

When I was expecting my daughter - she is 26 now! - the government gave us little detectors we had to place in the house and send off for testing. We put ours in her nursery. It came back with satisfactory results. We filed them away.

We are in a high risk area so tested when we moved in. Thankfully not an issue in our property.

I'd recommend letting them know they live in an area where there's a risk (albeit still small) of their homes containing high levels of radon and giving them some information about it. People are spending increasing amounts of time inside their homes, so it's really important they know what they're breathing. Outdoor air quality (traffic pollution etc) is important too, but we spend far longer inside. The official recommendation from UK Health Security Agency (and the World Health Organisation) is to carry out a test if you're in a designated affected area. Test kits can be ordered from UKHSA, or from private companies who use laboratories that are validated by the Government. The private labs are often cheaper and turnaround the results faster, but I know some people prefer using the Government service.

We were selling house in the 1980s and had to have a test. They drilled through the lounge floor, very stressful. Test was negative, sounds like it may be more sophisticated now.

Do you have a commercial interest, OP?

We now have a special barrier system in our basement following a survey and refurbishment. Sw.
tbh I had never really heard of it before living here.

It's a field I work in but I don't have any personal financial gain from it. Its a very niche area where I thought I could share some knowledge that might just save a life.

That's a good video (I know two of the experts featured in it). Worth pointing out that in the US they measure radon in a different unit (picocuries) to us so the action levels they mention are different to the UK (1 pCi/L = 37 Bq/m3). This is another brilliant video to watch from one of the world's most respected researchers in the field - he's a Brit living in Canada

I live in the SW & it was assessed at the time we bought our house (new build) at low risk.

A positive input ventilation system will keep your home dry and has the nice side effect of removing radon. It's only around 600 pounds to install. www.ukradon.org/information/reducelevels_positivevent#:~:text=Positive%20ventilation%20brings%20fresh%20air,around%20500%20Bq%20m%2D3.

I read somewhere that if you have spiders in your house, you don't have a radon problem. Is that true?

I live in a high radon area but there is a radon gap of about 45cm under the floors so should be fine.

I thought this was common knowledge. We're in a high risk area so this was a concern when our basement was built.

My partner is buying a house and the survey shows it’s in a 1-3% risk area. The report recommends getting additional testing done but when she spoke to her solicitor, she was recommended against following through with this due to it being such a small risk.
What are your thoughts on this? We’re in Wales if it makes any difference.

A family member in her early 50's moved to Cornwall and a few years later died of lung cancer despite never having smoked. We did wonder if radon was the cause of it.

Thanks for this OP we've just moved here from Ireland where it's very common to check for Radon and new homes must be fitted with a sump/pump as standard, and I was having trouble finding an equivalent map for the UK, so now I've bookmarked it.

I've never heard the spiders thing 🤣 - not sure where it came from but no, that wouldn't be a reliable indicator!

Ventilated suspended floors are a good thing and newbuilds in high risk areas are designed with them for this reason, but only if you've got good through ventilation, ie plenty of decent sized air bricks front ti back which you keep clear. If you don't, you've got the risk it acts as a collection point and unless you've got a decent floor above, potential for it to easily move up into your ground floors.

Sadly I come across anecdotes like this more and more, which is why I'm so keen on spreading awareness so people can look into it themselves and decide if they're bothered enough to test, before it's too late and they're left wondering. I'm sorry you lost someone, lung cancer is a horrible disease.

We are in a high radon area, our house was tested as part of our survey. Apparently, it is advisable to ensure a good air flow throughout the house. Probably why I have windows open all year.

This sort of thing is so infuriating to hear. Estate agents often say the same (don't want anything delaying or jeopardising the same I guess). If I'm spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on a house I'm going to live in with my family then spending £40 to confirm it doesn't have dangerous levels of radon is in my mind a small price to pay when compared with all the other costs of moving, solicitor's fees included! Even if it's "only" a 1-3% risk wouldnt you rather know if your house is the 1/2/3 in 100 that has got high levels that may cause lung cancer? We spend more every year on an MOT for our cars to make sure they're safe, and I'm betting your partner is planning to spend more time in their new home than the car.

During conveyancing you can do a short term 10 day screening test which will give an indication as to whether radon is likely to be an issue, or agree a retention with the vendor so a full test can be done once they've moved in. If high levels are found and remedial works are required, the cost is covered by the retention. Google 'radon bond' for more info on that, although sounds like your partners solicitor will be reluctant to add it to the contract.

I built a house in an area with radon and remember reading about it at the time and concluding that our underfloor ventilation was adequate (with excellent airflow as half way up a hill and insulation under the floors).

@RAW22 Thank you. I’ll show my partner this thread tomorrow.

Bloody hell I’ve just checked mine and I’m in a radon affected area 3 to 5%.

I live in North Wales and my area is full of old coal mines etc. in fact I think my street has old tunnels way beneath the surface

I live in council accommodation, they won’t care lol.