UK Radon Awareness Week

Reviewing Radon Awareness Week 2025: How We’re Making an Invisible Risk More Visible

Posted on by UKRA Secretary

For this year’s Radon Awareness Week (RAW 2025), we focused on shining a spotlight on the hidden but deadly risks of radon in homes, schools, and workplaces.

At the heart of our campaign was the UK Radon Association’s open letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, which called for urgent government action to reduce exposure to this invisible killer. Alongside this call to action, our members had a productive day at the Radon Forum discussing our shared goal – and throughout the week supporters joined in on social media, sharing resources, facts, and campaign materials under the hashtag #RadonAware.

 

Calling for Government Leadership

The main focus of this year’s RAW was our open letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, urging the Government to take decisive steps to reduce radon exposure across homes, schools, and workplaces.

The letter, which was signed on behalf of all 30 of our UKRA members called for:

  1. Launch a nationwide radon communications campaign for schools, ensuring all schools understand and meet their legal duty to assess and manage radon risks. According to anecdotal evidence from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as many as two-thirds of schools in radon-affected areas have never been tested, leaving over 100,000 children potentially exposed to high radon levels.

 

  1. Extend awareness efforts to nurseries and early years settings, including privately run institutions, a sector that has been overlooked in previous radon initiatives but where young children spend many hours each week.

 

  1. Distribute radon information through local health services and health visitor teams, to help families understand the risks at home and take preventative action.

 

Campaign Message: Invisible Gas, Visible Risk

The 2025 theme, “Invisible Gas, Visible Risk,” focused on raising awareness about radon, and reinforced some of the key facts that demonstrate the serious health threat radon can be, such as:

  • Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
  • Around 1,100 deaths in the UK each year are linked to radon exposure.
  • Awareness and testing remain strikingly low, even in affected areas.
  • Testing is easy and affordable, and mitigation systems are proven to reduce levels quickly.

The campaign also emphasised that radon levels vary even between neighbouring properties, highlighting why testing every building matters, not just those on a “radon-prone” street.

 

Driving Awareness Across Digital Channels

On social media, our campaign ran under the long-standing hashtag #RadonAware, with members and supporters sharing resources and practical advice on testing, mitigation, and public awareness.

We also released a suite of downloadable resources, including branded graphics, editable templates, and a campaign banner, encouraging organisations to show their support online and start conversations within their communities.

 

Media Coverage and Reach

In addition to our focus on getting our message out across social media channels, this year’s campaign was featured in a number of media outlets:

These stories mark an important step in getting radon into the public conversation and demonstrate growing recognition of the issue among regional and sector-specific media.

But there’s still much more to do. Awareness of radon remains low across the UK, and the Association will continue working to ensure the risks are better understood, testing becomes routine, and radon mitigation is recognised as a key public health priority.

 

Collaboration Across the Sector

This year’s campaign once again showed the value of collaboration across the UK Radon Association network. Our members, partners, and supporters played a vital role in sharing information, using campaign materials, and spreading the #RadonAware message across their own communities and networks.

As part of Radon Awareness Week, UKRA members also attended the UKHSA Radon Forum, which provided an important opportunity to connect with other professionals, discuss the latest research, and share updates on policy and public engagement. It was a reminder that progress depends on partnership.

We’d like to thank every member organisation and individual who helped amplify our message, from sharing posts on LinkedIn to contributing local stories and expertise. Your support continues to be the driving force behind Radon Awareness Week’s impact.

 

Looking Ahead

Radon Awareness Week 2025 demonstrated the growing momentum across the UK for stronger awareness and prevention.

At the UK Radon Association, we will continue to build on this year’s progress by:

  • Working with government and public health agencies to embed radon in national health policy.
  • Supporting schools, employers, and local authorities with guidance and training.
  • Expanding public engagement through member collaboration and the ongoing #RadonAware campaign.

Together, we’re ensuring that radon will no longer be an invisible health risk, and that every UK home, school, and workplace has the opportunity to be safer, healthier, and radon aware.

 

Stay #RadonAware

If you missed this year’s campaign, visit radonweek.co.uk to access resources, factsheets, and media releases, and join us in continuing to raise awareness all year round.

UKRA Launches ‘Don’t Delay’ Campaign During UK Radon Awareness Week 2021

Posted on by UKRA Secretary
During UK Radon Awareness Week (1st – 7th Nov), experts from the UK Radon Association are highlighting the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on lung cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment times and urging members of the public not to delay taking steps to protect their lungs.  
  • A UK Lung Cancer Coalition report suggests that lung cancer is one of the worst affected cancer pathways due to a combination of factors, including overlapping symptoms with COVID-19 and specific pressures on respiratory health-care services caused by the pandemic. (Source)
  • According to an article published in the British Journal of Cancer, the pandemic is having profound effects on both diagnosis and treatment strategies
  • Don’t Delay campaign urges public to test homes for radon, the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and to see their GP if they develop lung cancer symptoms
  • Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer after smoking and is responsible for over 1100 deaths in the UK every year. (Source)
“During the first wave of the pandemic, public fear of engaging with health services, halting of the national programme of lung cancer screening pilots, and restricted access to diagnostic tests contributed to a 75% drop in urgent lung cancer referrals,” said Robert Rintoul, Chair of the UK Lung Cancer Coalition Clinical Advisory Group (Source). “Guidance to stay at home with a cough, a key symptom of lung cancer, also caused further confusion among the general public. As a result of the reduction in referrals we are now seeing an increase in late-stage presentations which will potentially lead to hundreds of additional deaths, reversing the significant progress that has been achieved in improving lung cancer survival over the last 10–15 years.” In August 2021, the NHS launched its ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign with the aim of persuading people exhibiting possible lung cancer symptoms to contact their GP. To further enhance this message, the UK Radon Association is today launching its Don’t Delay campaign. Rebecca Coates, Chair of UK Radon Association said, “Lung cancer is often still thought of as a smoker’s disease, however sadly rates in non-smokers are increasing. Lung cancer is not the immediate thought for a non-smoker with a persistent cough, even less so whilst COVID-19 is a possible cause. That’s why we’ve launched the Don’t Delay campaign to raise awareness not only of the need to visit your GP if you have symptoms, but also that everyone should consider testing their home for radon to protect their lungs.”
  Radon is a radioactive gas we can’t see, smell or taste. It comes from the rocks and soil found everywhere in the UK and can enter your building without you knowing. The only way to know if a building has a high radon level is to have it tested, which costs about £50. According to the UK Health Security Agency, radon produces tiny radioactive particles in the air we breathe which damages our lung tissue and, over a long period, may cause lung cancer. The higher the level and the longer the period of exposure, the greater the risk. At the recent UK Radon Symposium, keynote speaker Dr Aaron Goodarzi, Canada Research Chair for Radiation Exposure Disease drew attention to findings that previous lung disease, including pneumonia, bronchitis and COPD, leads to an increased risk of an individual developing lung cancer in the future (Source). Dr Goodarzi warned that the number of patients suffering with so-called ‘Long Covid’ globally will have widespread ramifications on lung cancer rates.