The UK Radon Association were invited to host a one-day workshop as part of the recent International NORM & Natural Radiation Management Conference, held in London.

The workshop was attended by delegates from the UK as well as countries including Canada, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Martin Freeman, Chairman of UK Radon Association welcomed the delegates and delivered a keynote address, which included details from the recently published HSE statistics report. Analysis of the statistics by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) revealed that “We’ve put safety first at the expense of health” in recent years. The report continued “It is much easier to visualise falling of a ladder than it is to visualise the harm caused by exposure to gases and vapours”. It is hoped that this will generate renewed emphasis upon the need to conduct workplace radon risk assessments.

Rebecca Coates of UK Radon Association member company propertECO gave attendees a general overview about radon issues and how the risks can best be communicated amongst different stakeholder groups.

UK Radon Association Vice Chair Dr Maria Hansen (of TASL) spoke about the health effects of radon exposure and the various methods of testing for radon, including the use of passive monitors, continuous monitors and grab sampling.

Legislation regarding occupational exposure was discussed by David Lenden of RPmatters. David also detailed the requirements laid out in the new EURATOM Basic Safety Standards, which will see all European member states producing a ‘national radon action plan’ by February 2018, as well as possible alterations to the reference levels.