Monitoring Workplaces for Radon
In 2023 a public school in Bath was prosecuted and fined £ 50,000 by the Health and Safety Executive ( HSE ) for exposing pupils and staff to radon . The school had been previously monitored and some remediation had been put in place . However , no follow-up monitoring had been carried out to ensure the control measures put in place were adequate .
The Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 require an employer to monitor for radon if their premises are deemed to be in a radon area and any work is carried on in an atmosphere containing radon-222 gas at an annual average activity concentration in air
3 exceeding 300 Bq / m . New maps of radon affected areas were published in 2022 by the UK Health Security Agency . Most employers will have been made aware of the requirement to monitor and will have monitored in the past , where necessary putting remediation in place .
Employers and their Radiation Protection Advisers are reminded that even if remediation measures are put in place , follow-up monitoring is still required and , more importantly , any remediation such as pumps and sumps need to be adequately maintained . Conditions change and airflows are often affected by change of use and building modifications . It is recommended that radon monitoring is carried out on a regular basis to demonstrate that safe levels have been maintained .
During RPA visits to the school it was found that in a number of cases the maintenance of equipment was inadequate . Maintenance had comprised checking the electrical supply to the equipment , but no assessment of whether the pumps were working . The exhaust pipes were full of water because the pumps had long ceased to work .
Radon monitoring devices
Kingswood School was fined £ 50,000 for exposing children and staff to radon .
Photo Image acknowledgement acknowledgement John Liddle : Google Street View .
14 Radiation Protection Today www . srp-rpt . uk