We are pleased to announce the current Radon Potential dataset now includes new data for sites in Scotland.

Updates to digital mapping techniques have enabled the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and British Geological Survey (BGS) to produce a new, accurate representation of radon levels in Scotland. Our inclusion of this information within the standard Envirocheck Report now offers customers the opportunity to screen Scottish sites for radon risk, as well as sites in England and Wales. The report indicates whether a site is located within a radon Affected Area and whether radon protective measures are required in new buildings, extensions and conversions.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which seeps up from the ground and is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the UK.

Professor John Ludden, Executive Director of the British Geological Survey said, “Radon levels vary from place to place. The type of rocks and soils beneath our homes is the biggest factor controlling this variation. Therefore, to make the best possible assessment of radon levels, scientists in the two organisations have developed this detailed mapping approach. Radon is not a problem unique to Scotland, or the rest of the UK; many countries are affected to some degree by radon. This new radon map for Scotland benefits from the latest geological knowledge and many thousands of measurements of radon in homes.”

The new radon potential map data has led HPA scientists to estimate that between 2,000 and 5,000 Scottish homes could have radon concentrations above the radon Action Level where work would be recommended to protect occupants. The main areas with elevated radon are parts of Aberdeenshire, Highland and Orkney, with a number of pockets of elevated radon in the central belt of Scotland. Advice and guidance on site preparation for protection from radon gas is available in Section 3 – Environment of the most recent Scottish Government Technical Domestic and Non-Domestic Handbooks available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Building/Building-standards/publications/pubtech. The Technical Handbooks provide guidance on achieving the standards set in the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and subsequent Buildings (Scotland) Amendment Regulations.

Radon data is available as part of the Envirocheck Site Sensitivity Maps and Data Sheets module. For more information on the Envirocheck Report, please visit http://www.envirocheck.co.uk/products/environmental/envirocheck_report/.