Easy home radon measurement

You can measure for radon in your home yourself. Radonova has measured radon in 400,000 homes and counting – the most of any laboratory in Europe. With us you get:

• Delivery of radon detectors within one to two days
• Analysis in less than seven days
• Measurement accredited according to ISO 17025 and validated by Public Health England
• Measurement results online with the option to export measurement data

How is home radon measurement carried out?

Below are some rules of thumb for calculating radon doses and which apartments to measure if the survey is to be conducted for the whole property:

• All apartments with ground contact
• 20 percent of remaining apartments (without ground contact)
• At least one apartment per floor and per building entrance
• Apartments where certain types of concrete are suspected of contributing to elevated values
• Apartments next to elevators or ventilation shafts
• Basements (regardless of whether they are furnished or not)
• Note that each apartment must be measured using at least two radon detectors.

Housing association properties, multi-occupancy buildings, and rental accommodation

Landlords, local councils, and housing associations which manage property portfolios all have a responsibility for the health and welfare of their tenants. For rental property and multi-occupancy buildings, arranging radon measurements in a large number of properties or living spaces requires a number of decisions to be made and the process managed. Establish if planning and ordering is to be in-house. Is there to be central organisation, regional responsibility, or are the measurements to be arranged by the Landlord or tenant of each individual living space? Alternatively is the use of agents a cost effective option for you?

A single programme manager can run multi testing more efficiently with much greater control, regarding timescale and cost, as well as not relying on the varying commitments of local staff or tenants to arrange the tests. However it could be a significant amount of effort for one person to accomplish, and for workplaces and institutions (e.g. hospitals or student halls of residence), lack of local knowledge might impede choosing the right number of monitors and specific locations to test.

If you are considering arranging tests in all premises at the same time the best option may be to phase the programme over several months or even years. Ideally spread the workload – and prioritise detector testing by highest radon potential, or by sector. However delay in establishing radon levels may be questioned by the Regulatory authorities.

Establish who is responsible for the placement and retrieval of detectors as well as who is to receive the results and who is responsible for ensuring any appropriate follow-up actions are taken where remediation is required to meet Regulatory requirements.

Proper record keeping is important, not just for the original results, but also for noting the installation of any radon reduction systems together with maintenance dates and re-monitoring schedules.

Radon measurement programme co-ordinators must liaise with their Health and Safety (H&S) and Facilities colleagues as necessary. There is a programme co-ordinators must liaise with their Health and Safety (H&S) the appropriate regulatory authority for any premises with high radon levels. For homes this will be the Local Authority and for workplaces, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the local Health & Safety Inspector.

Radonova has many years of experience in co-ordinating large radon measurement programmes for housing associations, local council housing, multi-occupancy residences and institutions plus other rental accommodation. Contact us for advice and planning guidance.