Environmental impacts of waterproof membranes with respect to their radon resistance

Felicioni, Licia; Jiránek, Martin; Lupíšek, Antonín

doi:10.1016/j.susmat.2022.e00541

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Furthermore, the results of this research were compared with Felicioni et al's findings [13], where radon-proof membranes (one of the easiest-to-install and cheapest passive solutions for this gas [40]) were analyzed to highlight the type of membrane (chemical However, the selection of ventilation systems and operational times could not be solely based on the environmental parameters and radon concentration reductions. Other pollutants may have also adversely affected the indoor air quality, resulting in higher ventilation rates and, therefore, higher energy consumption levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The materials used and the energy consumed during the production, construction, and maintenance of buildings or products have significant environmental implications. As described by Felicioni et al [8,13], the environmental impacts of radon control technologies have not yet been sufficiently investigated. The study presented here is an important contribution to the growing body of research on the sustainability of ventilation systems by enabling a comprehensive assessment of their environmental impacts using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration

Felicioni,

Jiránek,

Vlasatá

et al. 2023

Buildings

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The primary measures against radon in buildings are a tight contact structure or venting the subsoil beneath the building. In many cases, ventilation systems used in buildings to ensure good indoor air quality can also be used to reduce the radon concentration. This study aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of residential ventilation systems for their ability to lower the concentration of this gas. The life cycle assessment methodology was used to assess two kinds of ventilation systems. The results indicate that 95% of environmental impacts are associated with operational emissions, while 5% are associated with embodied ones. Moreover, an increase in radon supply rates resulted in an increase in energy consumption and related emissions, for example, the operational energy of an exhaust ventilation system aimed for a reduction to 200 Bq/m3 in a 9/15 cyclic mode range from 9.69 for a radon supply rate of 50 Bq/m3h to 32.27 for 200 Bq/m3h. These simulations show that ventilation systems cannot be considered universally suitable measures to reduce the radon concentration because they may become very energy demanding, and their environmental impact may be significant even considering the type of energy source. Based on this study, we can determine whether it makes sense for a given radon supply rate and energy source to use a ventilation system to reduce the radon concentration in residential buildings.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration

Felicioni,

Jiránek,

Vlasatá

et al. 2023

Buildings

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“…This project aims to improve scientific evidence and address social concerns to provide effective radiation protection. The authors' task involved assessing the environmental impact of various types of radon preventive and remedial measures applied to buildings [4,5]. This project was conceived in response to the European Union's desire to reduce exposure to radon in buildings by adopting Directive 2013/59/Euratom [10].…”

Section: Aim and Scopementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the common practice suggests, the easiest and most economical solution for reducing the ingress of gas radon in the building would be to insert a radonproof membrane into the floor structure resting on the ground; different kinds of membranes can have different performances in terms of radon proofing and embodied emission as presented by Felicioni et al [5]. This study focused on situations where the soil gas radon concentration was considered so high that other solutions were required to ensure a healthy indoor environment.…”

Section: Variantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The materials used and the energy consumed during the production, construction, and maintenance of buildings and their components have significant environmental implications. As Felicioni et al [5] described, the environmental impacts of radon control technologies have not yet been sufficiently investigated. The study contributes to the growing body of research on the sustainability of radon control measures using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental assessment of several scenarios of active and passive radon control measures

Felicioni,

Jiránek,

Lupíšek

2023

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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In buildings, radon gas mainly enters through cracks in the floors and gaps around pipes and cables in contact with the soil, thereby increasing indoor radon levels. Like other building components or systems, the radon control measures have embodied and operational environmental impacts that have been neglected to a certain extent. While many actions have been taken recently to achieve carbon-neutral yet energy-efficient buildings, even radon control measures should be investigated not only for protecting human health since radon gas is the major source of ionising radiation for humans but also for the environment. This paper aims to undertake a comparative analysis of the embodied and operational impacts of variant radon-protective measures installed at the floor foundation level (both active and passive solutions) for new and existing buildings. In particular, this analysis includes four different measures based on radon venting from i) floor air gap created from plastic components, ii) flexible perforated pipes embedded in the gravel layer under the floor, iii) radon sump placed in the sub-floor layer, and iv) perforated tubes drilled horizontally into the subsoil under the house. In all cases, radon will be removed through a vertical exhaust pipe terminated above the roof or by a roof fan. The impacts are calculated for the life cycle assessment (LCA) stages A1-A3 (production phase) and B6 (operational energy) to determine whether future research should be focused on the reduction of environmental impacts on the production stages or the operational ones.

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Environmental impacts of waterproof membranes with respect to their radon resistance

Cited by 2 publications

References 20 publications

An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration

An Environmental Evaluation of Ventilation Systems Aimed at Reducing Indoor Radon Concentration

Environmental assessment of several scenarios of active and passive radon control measures

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