Radon Gas in the City of Alicante. High Risk of Low Indoor Air Quality in Poorly Ventilated Buildings

Abstract

In December 2019, Spain considered for the first time the presence of radon to the Technical Building Code (Basic Document HS 6: Radon Exposure Protection), although it only mentions minimum presences and the need for ventilation. This research shows that in buried structures or in places with little ventilation, even in soils with a low probability of granite, a high content of radon gas can be found. The city of Alicante has been used as a measurement location for different architectural sites; here, the level of 100 Bq/m3 is the first threshold where the gas must be monitored, and the level of 300 Bq/m3 is the maximum threshold above which corrective ventilation measures must be taken. The research conducted during the years 2015 and 2016 shows that it is necessary to account for also the areas considered to be “low presence of radon gas” to achieve healthy constructions. The renewal of air in the different places will be tested for the presence of radon, i.e., the greater the accumulation is, the less ventilation and the greater the risk of accumulation of radon gas. This study is located in the city of Alicante, where the seven civil constructions are located: two Civil War shelters, the Santa Barbara Castle, the Ereta Powder Keg, the Luceros-Marq and Serra Grossa railway tunnels and the Británica underground deposits. Radon gas is currently a concern for major health and medical agencies because it is considered to be a chemical element that is very harmful to people. The World Health Organization is one of the organisations that has the objective of studying and researching this element, to develop solutions. Radon gas is normally found in a gaseous state and is highly radioactive. It is present in many terrains and it is mostly found in those with granite; although the presence of this element is very low, there is always a minimum presence. In the past, in nongranite soils, the dose of radon was considered to be so low that it was insignificant. Therefore, in this research, the aim is to consider the high presence of radon gas in nongranite soils as long as the conditions for its accumulation are present.

High Indoor Rn Concentration Mitigation in a Heritage Building: Case Study Analysis of the Applied Constructive Measures

“…The authors point to similar recommendations, continually reinforcing the need to ventilate spaces as a corrective measure so that, as recommended by Rizo-Maestre and Echarri-Iribarren [34], it is necessary to also account for the areas considered to have a low presence of Rn gas to achieve healthy constructions. These authors, who studied the high risk of low indoor air quality in poorly ventilated buildings, reinforced once again the need to establish procedures for the ventilation of spaces, especially in cases where, despite the geological substrate not being potentially rich in Rn, there are still conditions that enhance the accumulation of gas.…”

Comparison of Indoor Radon Reduction Effects Based on Apartment Housing Ventilation Methods

“…In houses with successful air exchange, radon exhalation from building materials do not significantly affect the indoor air quality [18]. Meanwhile, the absence of ventilation can cause health hazards owing to the accumulation of radon gas, even in environments with low exposure to radon [19].…”