Model to Balance an Acceptable Radon Level Indoors

• Published in: Buildings (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 447
• Main Authors: Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn, Cornelius, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.04.2022
• Subjects: Airtightness; Building materials; Buildings; Chemical elements; Construction materials; Dilution; Equilibrium; Indoor air pollution; Indoor air quality; Indoor environments; indoor materials; Infiltration; Lung cancer; Membranes; Mortars (material); Outdoors; Pastes; penetration; Radon; Radon levels; Soil gas; Soil gases; Ventilation; England; Sweden; United Kingdom > UK; Norway; Germany; Finland
• ISSN: 2075-5309; 2075-5309
• DOI: 10.3390/buildings12040447

A theoretical model is presented for balancing an acceptable radon concentration in indoor air. The infiltration of radon from the ground to the indoor air can be controlled by barriers or by lowering the air pressure at the lower zone of the ground slab. Indoor air with a radon concentration higher than that of outdoor air can further be controlled through the effective dilution of indoor air with outdoor air. The theory estimates the allowed radon infiltration from the ground to balance radon at an acceptable level indoors for a given ventilation rate, considering the radon contribution to the indoor air from indoor materials, building materials and the interior. A method using this theory is presented, identifying the necessary airtightness required for a radon barrier to balance the acceptable radon concentration for a building. Barriers include commercially used system solutions, such as bitumen-based radon blockers, wet-room membranes, reinforced fixed mortar pastes, and polyethene membranes. An acceptable indoor radon concentration of between 100 and 300 Bq/m3 in indoor air is used. Barriers are evaluated by their ability to prevent soil gas penetration from the ground in combination with their effect on the building durability, as barriers may create a far more vulnerable building.