Measuring radon
Check
A Radon Risk Report costs £3.53 inc. VAT and will tell you if your home is in a radon Affected Area. If it is, we recommend that the radon concentration should be measured.
Measure
A radon measurement is easy to complete. We post you two detectors to place in your home: one in the living area and one in an occupied bedroom. After three months you post the detectors back to us in the pre-paid envelope provided. We analyse the detectors and post the results to you: the cost is £46.88 inc. VAT.
Act
If your result is at or above the UK Action Level of 200 Bq m-3, it should be reduced: see out fact sheet on reducing radon. Sometimes a free re-measurement is available to check the remedial work.
The detectors
Radon detectors are safe and simple to use: e.g., they can sit on a shelf. The hollow plastic shell contains a piece of clear plastic that records the damage caused by radon. The detectors do not emit anything and do not collect anything dangerous. However, they can be damaged by heat or submersion in water and should not be opened.
The test
The amount of radon varies over time and from room to room in a home. The test is carried out over three months to allow for variations in levels. The test is to determine your exposure, this is why we recommend testing the living area and bedroom as these are the rooms you and your family use the most.
The result
We aim to post the result and an explanation to you within four weeks of you returning the detectors to us. The result will give the yearly average radon level in your home and will tell you whether it is above or below the Action Level. The results will be less reliable:
- If there is a change of occupier during the test period
- If the home is unoccupied for more than a few weeks in the three months
- If there are on-going building works
- If the detectors are not put in place within a week of arriving
- If the test period is shorter than 3 months
A screening test
A more expensive test is available for people who wish to have an early indication of the success of remedial work. This costs £85.78 inc. VAT and includes an extra two detectors to place next to the three-month detectors. You return the extra detectors after two weeks and we will provide one of three interim results in five working days:
- Likely to be above the Action Level
- Likely to be below the Action Level
- Uncertain and completion of the three month test is required
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