PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Radon (Rn) is a gaseous trace element that is chemically inert and ubiquitous in soil and groundwater. It occurs naturally as an intermediate step in normal radioactive decay, through which thorium and uranium slowly decay into lead. radon gas is colourless, tasteless, and odourless, even at high concentrations. It is generally unreactive and eliminated from the body. Given that it is radioactive and easily inhaled, however, it represents a concrete health hazard. According to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), radon is the most important source of ionising radiation related to indoor air quality. Indeed, it is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background radiation dose, though the radon-gas hazard level is dependent on local geological differences. Despite its short half-life (3.8 days), radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings and, due to its high density, in low areas such as basements and crawl spaces. Epidemiological studies have shown a clear link between breathing high concentrations of radon and incidences of lung cancer, childhood leukaemia, pancreatic cancer, and other forms of cancer. Radon is hence a contaminant that affects indoor air quality worldwide, and a remediation system is necessary to guarantee good air quality within buildings.
The European directive regarding human exposure to natural radiation (2013/59/EURATOM), which deals primarily with indoor radon, encourages national action plans to identify areas where a significant number of buildings have average radon levels exceeding national reference levels (i.e. Radon Prone Areas, RPAs) and to propose remediation.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE RESPIRE project aimed to develop a system for the real-time monitoring of indoor radon to help direct appropriate remediation actions. The project also wanted to address the direct measurements of soil gas radon which, coupled with geological data, are widely used to define the geogenic radon potential (GRP) of an area (i.e. an estimate of Rn originating from geological sources). The GRP will then be used to guide indoor surveys, as indoor radon values are often highly variable.
The main specific objectives of the RESPIRE project were to:
- Demonstrate in four representative areas in Italy and Belgium, with different GRPs, a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for the real-time measurement and remediation of radon to keep indoor radon levels below 100 Bq/m3.
- Construct a real-time geodatabase of continuously collected radon measurements, coupled with other geological, geochemical, and building characteristics data.
- Provide local authorities with radon hazard guidelines and real-time WebGis radon maps for land use planning and health risk assessment, thus facilitating the preparation of national action plans.
The main expected result of the LIFE RESPIRE project, linked to radon measurement, was the WebGis real-time updated European map of radon concentrations indoors, including geological-geochemical characteristics, soil gas radon activity, radon flux from soil, dissolved radon in groundwater and public waters, GRP and Radon Prone Areas (RPA), and building characteristics (i.e. year of construction, building materials, type of foundations, floor, and ventilation).
RESULTS
The project has successfully developed an effective solution for the real-time measurement and remediation of radon, constructed a geodatabase of the measures collected, and provided local authorities with radon hazard guidelines.
Indeed, as a project with high policy relevance at national and local levels, the beneficiaries successfully engaged the most important actors and policy makers, such as the Italian Ministry of Environment, Italian authorities for Environmental Protection, Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection, Belgian authorities for nuclear control, on top of the local authorities of all the cities involved. In concrete terms, the project has promoted among these stakeholders the developed remediation system, radon maps, and hazard guidelines, all of which can support the preparation of national and local action plans that must identify areas where the annual average Rn in a significant number of buildings is expected to exceed the national reference level (radon-prone areas), according to Radon Directive 2013/59/EURATOM. The project will continue to involve policy makers after the project end. Among others, it will work to include the profile of geologists in the "radon experts" category mentioned by the New Italian Radon Plan.
In parallel, the developed prototypes for the measurement of radon have demonstrated to be effective in lowering indoor radon concentration and are hence a useful tool to help comply with the Radon Directive, which prescribes that buildings should have a maximum average concentration of indoor radon of 300 Bq/m3. These have been tested in numerous buildings in Italy and Belgium, and although there are no plans for their industrialisation, they can be assembled using commercial components, and thus the project's team foresees installing new devices in some 100 buildings, in the next 5 years.
The socio-economic impact assessment aimed to look into how people in the targeted areas perceive the risk of Radon, together with other aspects related to employment and social issues. The assessment and surveys carried out showed that the perception of risk has increased in the population interviewed during the project period: +28% the radon risk perception, +35% knowledge of health risks, +45% knowledge of region-specific geological risk.
Life RESPIRE has created numerous communication products (such as brochures, articles, and newsletters) to inform stakeholders about the problem of radon and the work of the project. It also organised many seminars, webinars, and events to raise awareness among the population about the problem of indoor radon.
In all, RESPIRE demonstrated in four significant areas in Italy and Belgium a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for radon real-time measurement and remediation. The project relevantly helped to comply with the Radon Directive in the municipalities involved.
