Global testing and inspection service Bureau Veritas has warned that from February 2018 changes to the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1999 (IRR1999) mean employers will have to adhere to a new lower radon exposure limit of 300Bq/M3 in the workplace, replacing the current 400Bq/M3 threshold.
Under the reforms, the Health & Safety Executive is also planning to overhaul how organisations notify the watchdog of unsafe levels of exposure.
As a result, organisations will need to pursue testing and remediation in the first instance, and will only be required to notify HSE once remediation shows levels cannot be reduced below the new 300Bq/m3 limit.
In line with World Health Organization recommendations, the measures are aimed at raising awareness of radon – a colourless, odourless and tasteless naturally occurring radioactive gas – which is the second largest cause of lung cancer and the third leading cause of premature deaths in the UK.
As Radon Awareness Week gets under way, it’s important for employers to ensure they have an adequate and appropriate strategy in place to protect employees and meet new safety standards.
Levels of radon gas vary across the UK depending on location and building type. The risk of radon exposure in a building increases dramatically if an employee’s workplace is in a geographic area of high radon activity such as Wales and Cornwall. Office space located in basements and lower ground floors is also more at risk due to poor ventilation.
According to the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974, all organisations are required to carry out a radon risk assessment.
UK workplaces located below ground floors or in an area of high radon activity, and occupied greater than an average of an hour per week or 52 hours per year, must carry out testing as part of the radon risk assessment.
Ian Mitchell, a Principal Consultant at Bureaus Veritas, said “We hope that Radon Awareness Week, as well as upcoming changes to legislation, will finally put radon on the radar for many organisations.
“For years, we’ve come to know carbon monoxide as the ‘silent killer’. The reality is, however, that as the second leading cause of lung cancer in UK, radon exposure presents a much more pressing danger.
“The potential risk from radon affects all employees working at ground and below ground workplaces, which include offices, banks and retail premises in all geographic locations across all of the UK. Yet this risk is often overlooked, despite the well understood health implications associated with exposure to radon gas through a typical working day.
“To comply with new regulations, employers need to act now to ensure they have a robust and effective strategy in place to protect employees from radon exposure and to meet the imminent new safety standards.
“The good news is that it’s simple and cost-effective to measure radon levels and relatively straightforward, depending on the potential level of risk, to manage and mitigate the risks.”
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Hi James, Just a little point of detail: the Health and Safety at Work Act does not mention risk assessment – and it doesn’t apply to absolutely all types of organizations. It is a piece of enabling legislation, which applies to employers and the self-employed. Under its auspices, a wide range of health and safety regulations have been made, many of which require employers and the self-employed to carry-out risk assessments. Therefore, it isn’t quite right to say that the Health and Safety at Work Act itself requires all organizations to carry out a risk assessment of exposure to radon… Read more »
Quote: “According to the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974, all organisations are required to carry out a radon risk assessment.”
I have searched my copy of the HASAWA and it mentions neither risk assessment nor radon.
I think the author means organisations need to clarify any radon risk as part of their duties to employees to ensure HS&W under the Act.
Useful reminder of the risk associated with radon exposure. Employers have a responsibility to protect their workers. In cases where the building is leased, do the land / building owners also have a responsiblity?