Join us for Episode 12 of The Safer Schools Podcast as we welcome special guest Rebecca Coates, Head of Radon Projects at PropertECO (one of the UK’s leading specialist radon contractors and consultants for radon risk assessments and radon mitigation works), to discuss everything that schools need to know about radon, including:
- What radon is
- How radon can cause harm
- How radon can get into your buildings
- What Health & Safety legislation requires you to do in terms of identifying and managing radon risk
- How to find out whether you have a radon problem within your school (including what is meant by the term ‘Radon Affected Area’)
- Examples of remedial actions that can be taken to reduce radon exposure
- The need for a clear policy outlining your arrangements to manage radon risk
- The need for appropriate risk assessments covering radon exposure within your school, and how often these should be reviewed; and
- The consequences of failing to identify and manage radon risk.
Exposure to radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Estimates put it at over 1100 deaths annually in the UK from lung cancer are linked to radon exposure.
So, if you’re responsible for overseeing Estates, Health & Safety, or compliance in a school, then this is the episode for you!
Let’s start a conversation on how we can make our schools safer!
To listen to Episode 12 just click on the button below, and don’t forget to subscribe in your podcast app (available in Podbean, Spotify, and Amazon Music).
Questions, comments, suggestions for topics? This is your Podcast too…
Drop an email to: info@pearsonwebb.co.uk
We’ve provided links below to the various guidance documents and other resources referred to in this episode:
- Check to see whether your premises are in a radon Affected Area using the UK Radon Map (and if they’re not, then remember that you’ll still need to undertake radon monitoring for any occupied below-ground workplaces). Open the map, enter the postcode for your site, and then click the red button labelled ‘Show Radon data’. Finally, click on ‘Legend’ at the bottom right of the map: https://www.ukradon.org/information/ukmaps
- PropertECO’s free Radon in Schools Guidance and Templates: https://properteco.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Radon-in-Schools-Risk-Assessment-Guidance-2024.pdf
- The Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidance on radon in the workplace: https://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/radon.htm
- List of Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) Bodies Recognised by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) under The Ionising Radiation Regulations (IRR) 2017: https://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/rpnews/bodieshse.htm
- UK Radon Awareness Week webpage: https://https://radonweek.co.uk/
- Contact details for our guest Rebecca Coates:
- Telephone: 0800 046 6193
- Email: rebecca.coates@properteco.co.uk
- Website: www.properteco.co.uk
