Radon is a natural gas found in soil and rocks. It has been linked with lung cancer, but if your home is at risk from radon you can easily take simple and effective steps to make it safe.
The facts
Radon has no colour, taste or smell. Levels vary from country to country, region to region, and even house to house in the same street. In open spaces, when radon mixes with air, it is quickly diluted into the atmosphere. But when air containing radon rises from the soil and rocks beneath your home, it may find its way in – mainly through cracks in floors, walls, and gaps around service pipes.
The risks
Health studies around the world have linked radon with lung cancer. Radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer – the first is smoking. People who are exposed to high levels of radon are more likely to get lung cancer, and the risk to smokers will be much higher than the risk to non-smokers.
Radon in South Gloucestershire
To find out if your home is likely to have higher than normal radon levels, please download the radon map.
The tests
You can get a simple, safe and confidential test to measure the levels of radon in your home.
You will be sent two detectors. The detector is about the size of a small doorknob. It is made from a piece of spectacle lens plastic, which records the radon.
Put one in a living room, and another in a bedroom. After three months, you simply return them to an accredited laboratory. Shorter tests are available, but are not as accurate.
If you are concerned about radon, contact one of the accredited laboratories to buy a test kit.
Making your home safe
If your home does have high radon levels, there are simple, low-cost and effective measures you or a builder can take. They usually involve minor building work, and possibly the installation of a fan system to keep radon from entering your home. Our Environmental Health and Building Control departments can give you more advice on these works.
Further information
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes leaflets about reducing levels of radon in your home. The Health Protection Agency and the Radon Council can also help.