Survey on Radon guidelines, programmes and activities

Overview

Under the framework of the WHO International Radon Project, WHO conducted a survey on indoor radon among WHO member states in 2005. This report includes the detailed responses of 36 countries that returned the questionnaires. Among other, information on the mean radon levels in the different countries as well as on radon action/reference levels is provided. The values for action levels show a wide range, but most frequently radon concentrations between 100 and 400 Bq/m3 are being used as action level.

Many countries have opted for lower levels for new buildings as compared to slightly higher levels for existing buildings. Questions concerning radon measurement as well as mitigation and prevention guidelines were also part of the survey. Many different activities and approaches to radon risk communication were reported by the participating countries, but only some countries have evaluated these activities.