Press Release
Building Standards alert designers and builders to radon precautions
The Council’s Building Standards service is now checking all building warrant applications against a new map showing areas potentially affected by radon levels in Shetland.
Building Standards Manager with the Council, Alan Jarden said “Although levels of radon in Shetland aren’t high compared with other areas of Scotland, the map does show that there are many areas in Shetland where levels are above the action level established by government. The Building Regulations in Scotland say that new properties in a radon-affected area have to be designed and built so that occupants are protected from radon. So, after the 1st October 2011 when we’re carrying out the building warrant technical assessment we will be assessing all new applications against the revised mapping.”
The new Government advice on the radon map doesn’t just affect people who are looking to build in the future. Mr Jarden continued, “The Scottish Government is also keen that the Council encourage anyone,
- who has received their building warrant or is waiting for their building warrant since the last radon map was published on 1st October 2009 and
- who is now within a designated radon-affected area or is in an area where the radon probability level has increased since October 2009
to consider taking precautions against the ingress of radon.”
Mr Jarden continued, “By mentioning this in relation to older warrants and those yet to be approved we feel that this is a responsible and positive action based on the new information now available. Being forewarned, prospective owners and developers will be able to decide themselves whether to rely on statutory minimum standards or provide additional protection at the design/construction stage. As you can only get clear radon readings once a property has been built, adding in protective measures at an early stage could avoid additional expense should future studies show that levels of radon are higher than is presently known”.
The new mapping is a result of the combination of geological data and individual readings obtained through testing of properties already constructed. It provides an indication of the probability of levels of radon which can be expected in any particular area.
The revised mapping for the probability of radon within any particular area of Shetland can be viewed at the Health Protection Agency website (http://www.hpa.org.uk) via the following link:
http://www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/Radiation/CRCEScientificAndTechnicalReportSeries/HPACRCE023/
Or you can view the PDF map of Shetland showing radon levels here.