Can your home cause cancer?

CONSTRUCTION

Jun 28

Written By Francisco Javier Muñoz Fuentes

Yes, it is possible that the title of the post is a bit clickbait, but today I want to talk to you about a very important topic that you may never have hated to talk about: radon gas.

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WHAT IS RADON?

Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless radioactive gas. It is produced by the natural radioactive decay of uranium that is present in soils and rocks (although it can also be contained in water). This gas very easily emanates from the ground and passes into the air, where it disintegrates and emits other radioactive particles. Particles that when inhaled can cause serious damage to health.

Radon is one of the main causes of lung cancer. Current estimates of the proportions of lung cancer attributable to this gas range from 3% to 14%.

Its danger lies in three main aspects: it is radioactive (when it enters the lungs it produces a radioactive decay that damages DNA, causing cancer), it is highly mobile and imperceptible (it is invisible, colorless, odorless and tasteless, so we cannot know if it is around us unless we have the appropriate measuring equipment).

And surely you are wondering what does this have to do with houses?

We'll tell you then.

RADON IN BUILDINGS

The greatest source of radon exposure for most people is mostly in the home (where many hours a day are spent) and indoor workplaces.

Radon seeps into homes and buildings through cracks, in the joints of different construction elements, spaces around pipes or cables or even in the pores of construction material. The level of radon exposure is usually higher in basements (from approximately 1 meter deep) and living spaces that are in contact with the ground, although significant concentrations can also be found above the ground floor.

Depending on the geological composition of the land in which your home is located, the ventilation of the building and the existence of access roads in the buildings through the construction elements, we can find Radon concentrations that vary from 10Bq / m3 to 10,000 Bq / m3.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT HOW MUCH RADON IS IN MY HOME?

The only way to know the degree of radon concentration in your home is through a measurement with the appropriate specialized equipment. This measurement can be carried out yourself by acquiring one of the meters available on the market (activated carbon filters to measure Radon gas, trace methodology, electronic Radon gas meters ...) or carried out through a specialized company, which will analyze the results and depending on the risks that it finds, it will design a series of measures to reduce the concentration of Radon in the home.

If you are interested in measuring Radon gas in your home, you should bear in mind that these measurements are not carried out in a timely manner (the concentration of the gas will vary constantly over time, so to obtain an accurate result it will be necessary to perform measurements for several days) and that, in addition, must be carried out in different specific rooms, since, just as they can vary over time, the Radon concentration can also vary from one plant to another or, even on the same floor, from one room to another.

IS THIS PROBLEM BEING FIXED IN THE NEW BUILDINGS?

There are measures to address this problem in the construction of new buildings, although it is extremely recent.

Although it has been many years since the European Union has been warning of the risks of Radon gas and a series of recommendations have been established, it was not until the promulgation of the European Directive 2013/59 / EURATOM that things became more serious, since it is mandatory for all member countries. This Directive established the maximum deadline of February 2018 to establish the following measures:

Establish basic safety standards for protection against radon.
Establish the threshold of maximum Radon concentration in homes of 300Bq / m3
Measure and control radon in homes, schools, public buildings, workplaces ...
Obligation to inform citizens regarding exposure to radon and its associated risks.
Carry out anti-Radon measures.

As you may be thinking, more than 3 and a half years after the end of that period, we have not yet been able to establish all the measures that were required from the European Union.

However, the Technical Building Code has been adapted to the Directive, and has incorporated in its latest revision of the CTE a new section in the DB-HS Document, called Protection against radon gas (If you do not know what that of the CTE we recommend that you read ouranother post: What is the Technical Code)

This document establishes a series of means available to buildings to limit the foreseeable risk of exposure to Radon, classifying municipalities according to their potential risk, and establishing maximum levels of exposure to Radon.

HOW CAN I ISOLATE MY HOME FROM RADON EXPOSURE?

As we have told you, the main cause of Radon inside buildings is the lack of tightness of the enclosures, since gas can enter through cracks, joints, porosity of materials ...

Therefore, from a construction point of view, it will be necessary to design barriers in the building envelope to prevent the entry of air with radon from the ground. Some possible solutions, depending on the case, may be: establish protection barriers (anti-radon sheets) between the land and the living quarters, locate ventilated air chambers between the land and the home, depressurization of the land, mechanical ventilation of the rooms, avoid some specific materials, and so on.

If you are interested in undertaking work on your home to isolate it from exposure to Radon, we recommend that you contact an architect, since depending on how it has been built, these measures can be very different for each case.

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