Indoor Air Quality
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Radon is a naturally occurring colourless, odourless, tasteless and invisible gas,
released as a by-
No radon level is safe. The health risk is greatest, however, when the radon is abundant
in the air. Its concentration depends largely on regional geological conditions.
The level does vary between countries, though. The US, for example, established an
Action Level of 148Bqm3. When scientists tested work places, public buildings and
private homes and applied this level, they concluded that most test sites were well
below this established low-
The risk of developing lung cancer at home depends on many factors: the time someone
spends at home, the concentration level, the amount of radiation received (dose),
age, health status, etc. After all the tests and studies that have been conducted
so far, one risk factor is number one -
Radon is an international problem. With few exceptions, most countries have regions where homes have elevated levels of radon gas in indoor air. International and national cancer research agencies, radiological protection agencies, scientific committees, and the World Health Organization, of course, combine their effort to develop international standards and monitoring programmes. It is vital that you and I know of the potential risks and that we are given the appropriate advice on what we can do about it. In the next few paragraphs I will show you what health authorities and the scientists presently know about the radon problem.