Denman Antony R, Crockett Robin G M, Groves-Kirkby Christopher J
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, The University of Northampton, St George's Avenue, Northampton, NN2 6JD, UK.
J Environ Radioact. 2018 Dec;192:166-171. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.06.017. Epub 2018 Jun 29.
Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas generated underground by radioactive decay of nuclides contained in certain types of rocks, can concentrate inside buildings, where it poses the second-largest risk factor for lung cancer, after smoking. The highest concentrations of domestic radon in the UK occur in the south-western counties of Devon and Cornwall, but certain areas in Northamptonshire and surrounding counties in the English Midlands also have high levels. It has been shown that it is possible both to reduce the radon concentrations in existing houses and to build new homes with appropriate protection. Since 1999, the UK's Building Regulations have specified that all new homes should be built with a combined radon-proof/damp-proof membrane plus, in Radon Affected Areas, a sump under the building. However, the building regulations do not require that the radon level is measured once the house is built and so there is little information on the effectiveness of these measures. Builders generally do not mention radon, and when asked, just confirm that their houses are built to current standards. To better understand the efficacy or otherwise of the currently mandated radon-protection measures, a cross-sectional investigation was carried out in 26 new housing developments in high-radon areas in Northamptonshire. In a targeted mail-shot, 1056 householders were invited to apply for a free radon test; 124 replied (11.7%). In total, 94 pairs of detectors were returned (70.1% of responders), of which two were spoiled, giving a total of 92 results. Following processing and seasonal correction, the arithmetic mean radon concentration in the target houses was 45% of the arithmetic mean radon concentration in existing houses in the postcode sectors where the houses were built and were approximately log-normally distributed. No results exceeded the UK Action Level of 200 Bq. m but three were above the Target Level of 100 Bq. m. The results suggest that the radon-proof membranes in general ensure that radon concentrations in new homes constructed in accordance with the Building Regulations in Radon Affected Areas (RAAs) are satisfactorily low. However, there is a very small statistical probability that levels in a small number of homes will be close to or above the Action Level, particularly in areas of high radon potential. As a result, the Public Health England (PHE) recommendation for testing in the first year of occupation should be adopted as a legal requirement.
氡是一种自然产生的放射性气体，由某些类型岩石中所含核素的放射性衰变在地下产生，它可在建筑物内积聚，在那里它是仅次于吸烟的第二大致肺癌风险因素。英国国内氡浓度最高的地区出现在西南部的德文郡和康沃尔郡，但北安普敦郡的某些地区以及英格兰中部的周边郡县也有高浓度氡。研究表明，降低现有房屋中的氡浓度以及建造具有适当防护措施的新房屋都是可行的。自1999年以来，英国的建筑法规规定，所有新建房屋都应使用防氡/防潮组合膜，并且在受氡影响地区，建筑物下方应设置集水坑。然而，建筑法规并未要求在房屋建成后测量氡水平，因此关于这些措施有效性的信息很少。建筑商通常不会提及氡，当被问及时，只是确认他们建造的房屋符合现行标准。为了更好地了解当前规定的防氡措施的效果，在北安普敦郡高氡地区的26个新住房开发项目中进行了一项横断面调查。通过有针对性的邮件投递，邀请了1056户家庭申请免费氡检测；124户回复（11.7%）。总共返回了94对探测器（占回复者的70.1%），其中两对损坏，共得到92个结果。经过处理和季节性校正后，目标房屋中的氡浓度算术平均值是房屋建造所在邮政编码区域内现有房屋氡浓度算术平均值的45%，并且大致呈对数正态分布。没有结果超过英国200贝克勒尔/立方米的行动水平，但有三个超过了100贝克勒尔/立方米的目标水平。结果表明，防氡膜总体上确保了在受氡影响地区按照建筑法规建造的新房屋中的氡浓度低到令人满意的程度。然而，极少数房屋中的氡水平接近或超过行动水平的统计概率非常小，特别是在氡潜在水平高的地区。因此，应将英国公共卫生部门（PHE）关于在入住第一年进行检测的建议作为法律要求采纳。
