Spain is the only EU country that has not yet transposed the Directive. 59/2013/EURATOM, obliges all member states to measure and control radon in homes, schools, public buildings, workplaces, etc. Four and a half years ago, a maximum deadline was set for launching a National Plan against Radon on February 6, 2018. In this context, World War II, organized by the Radon-Free Live initiative of the Geo-Environmental Health Institute and attended by a dozen high-level experts and technicians dealing with this radioactive gas problem. The National Radon Congress was held.
During the two days of the congress, different Radon, which was classified as a group 1 carcinogen by WHO 34 years ago and recognized as the second cause of lung cancer after tobaccoeven in people who have never smoked.
For José Miguel Rodríguez, director of the Institute of Geoenvironmental Health, “radon is a public health problem that is hardly known to the general population, but it can have very serious consequences for people exposed to it. And although this is completely avoidable. As a first step, it would be sufficient for the Government to actively publicize the existence of the problem and the possible solutions available, but it will not do so. They neither legislate nor inform. And hence our private enterprise living radon-free and this congress will be held for the second time in a row.”
Radon naturally occurs underground, especially in granite areas where it evaporates into the atmosphere. Large areas of Spain have this problem, such as Galicia, Extremadura or the Sierras de Guadarrama and Gredos in Madrid. It is diluted outdoors and does not pose a risk, but when it seeps into buildings through small cracks in basements and foundations, it accumulates in the air, endangering the health of people living or working there. More than 1,500 people die from lung cancer every year in Spain due to radonAccording to Alberto Ruano, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Santiago de Compostela.
There is no safe level of exposure to radon.
Ruano stated in the congress that the risk of developing lung cancer is significant when there is radon exposure at concentrations of 50 Bq/m3 (becherel per cubic meter) and this risk is higher in smokers, “Because there is an additive synergy from 148 Bq/m3”. However, 59/2013/EURATOM The reference value for radon set by the directive is 300 Bq/m3, “although there are European countries that have decided to set the reference levels as 100 or 200 Bq/m3 with the transposition of this directive. m3 to better protect their citizens”, says the Swedish laboratory Radonova in radon measurements expert José Luis Gutiérrez Villanueva. WHO, for its part, lowers the reference level by 100 Bq/m2.3 to affect the maintenance of health.
Regardless, all attendees of this convention agree that there is no level of radon that is safe to be exposed to. According to Elío and Ruano, the risk of developing lung cancer due to radon increases by 16% for every 100 Bq/m3 exposure. “There is a linear and statistically significant relationship between radon concentration and lung cancer,” said the professor at the University of Santiago. In fact, according to this latest expert, “there are studies that associate greater exposure to radon with lower survival from lung cancer at both 3 and 5 years after diagnosis.”
Maps for planning public prevention policies
Radon maps are the most widely used tool to study the possible presence of radon in an area and to estimate possible risk levels.Such as those prepared by the Nuclear Safety Council or the Institute of Geoenvironmental Health. “But there’s a lot of misinformation about it,” warned Javier Elío, a mining engineer specializing in radon who was involved in charting the radon of Europe and Ireland.
According to this expert, “you can’t predict the radon concentration in a home based on a map because maps don’t delimit safe areas versus safe areas. unsafe areas, but It is a tool to assist in the planning of protection and prevention policies.because they identify priority areas for action to reduce the overall exposure of the population and reduce lung cancer incidences in the long term. “However, although it is not a risky area in principle, a home can still have radon, so specific measurements should always be made.”
Laura Mezquita, oncologist and researcher, whose main area of research is precisely residential radon and cancer, underlines the importance of prevention policies: like immunotherapy or targeted therapies acting on preventable cancer risk factors such as radon is key and should be the primary line of action”.
Ignorance in the construction industry
José Miguel Rodríguez of the Institute of Geoenvironmental Health, great lack of knowledge about radon, which simply does not exist among the general population even among construction professionals, although the Technical Building Code (CTE) already includes requirements and safety requirements for this radioactive gas in new buildings and renovations. “The vast majority of builders are not trained in this.There is awareness of this in other countries around us, such as the UK, Ireland or Belgium, and even home measurement schemes have been initiated by the Government”.
Rodríguez also emphasized that although the WHO recommends a radon concentration in residential premises of less than 100 Bq/m3, it sets the limit value of CTE at 300 Bq/m3, which represents insufficient protection for people’s health. Those who breathe that air for hours every day.”
However, the person responsible living radon-free wanted Avoid alarmism because as it has been repeated several times, there is a simple solution to a radon problem in a home or office.. “Many people avoid measuring radon because the job scares them, but the important thing is to know and correct the risk and protect your own health. Normally a little work is all it takes to fix the problem,” he said. According to Rodríguez, “the presence of radon is a variable that should be part of mandatory air quality measurement parameters in both homes and businesses.” The first thing to do in these cases is to consult an expert who will assess the magnitude of the problem and suggest the right remedial techniques to eliminate the problem.
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