Half of all cancer deaths worldwide are due to preventable risk factors. Among those that most impact this fact are tobacco, alcohol, sun exposure or obesity. But another thing to prevent is exposure to radon, a type of natural gas that can cause lung cancer.
In fact, it is the second cause of this tumor after tobacco, even in people who have never smoked. The WHO estimates that between 3% and 14% of lung cancer deaths are related to radon. This means that here, between 800 and 1,500 people die every year from this tumor due to exposure to this radioactive gas.
Spain was, until now, the only country in the European Union that had not yet transposed the community directive, published in December 2013, which obliges all member states to measure and control it in homes, schools, public buildings, workplaces, etc. The deadline to do so expired in February 2018. Finally, four years and ten months after the deadline, the Spanish Government published Royal Decree 1029/2022, of December 20, which approves the Regulation on the protection of health against risks arising from exposure to ionizing radiation, including radon.
This Royal Decree only represents a partial transposition of the Directive, since it also obliges member states to develop a National Plan against radon in which specific measures to protect citizens are established. However, “the estimated date for the publication of the aforementioned national plan is not yet known, not even a draft”, as reported by José Miguel Rodríguez, head of the Vivesinradon.org program at the Institute of Geoenvironmental Health.
Furthermore, the new regulation that defines the generic bases that will guide protection against this gas, establishes a maximum exposure limit of 300 Bq/m3 (becquerel per cubic meter), compared to the official level contemplated so far in Spain of 600 Bq/m3. «Although exposure to radon is a well-known risk and the WHO recommends that countries establish a reference level of 100 Bq/m3, in Spain, both this regulation and the Technical Building Code start with the highest level permitted by the directive, which is 300 Bq/m3. The consequences are collected by the WHO itself in its Manual on indoor radon, according to which the risk of suffering from lung cancer increases by 16% for every 100 Bq/m3 increase in the normal or long-term value of radon concentration. the house,” explains Rodríguez.
Therefore, for some experts this level of protection is insufficient, as countries such as Ireland, Canada or the United States have set their reference at 200 Bq/m3, and the WHO recommends 100 Bq/m3 as a reference. “We find it unacceptable that the highest level permitted by the Directive was chosen. If we add to this the delay in legislating, the divergences with other European Union countries make our deficiencies visible”, laments the expert who, in fact, points out that this regulation is just a first step and it remains to be seen what concrete measures and actions will be included in the National Plan against Radon established by the Ministry of Health.
Where is it?
radon occurs naturally underground, mainly in granite areas, from where it filters into the atmosphere through small fissures in the ground. Large regions of Spain have this problem due to their geological composition, such as Galicia, Extremadura or the Guadarrama and Gredos mountains, in the communities of Madrid and Castilla y León. (See graph)
Once it emerges into the atmosphere, it is diluted in the air and does not pose any risk, but when it infiltrates buildings, either through the porosity of materials or through small cracks in basements and foundations, accumulates in considerable concentrations, putting health at risk of the people who live or work there.
And how can you suspect that a home is affected by this gas? The first thing to do is find out if you live in a risk area. To do this, you can consult radon maps published at vivesinradon.org or the Nuclear Safety Council website, or by consulting your local council. If you live in a risk area, the next step would be to carry out an ISO 17025 accredited measurement. This type of measurement is done with nuclear trace detectors, which are left at home for a minimum period of three months, preferably in the winter period as this gas floats and is more abundant in winter than in summer.
