Relationships between indoor radon concentrations, thermal retrofit and dwelling characteristics

Radon Investigation in 650 Energy Efficient Dwellings in Western Switzerland: Impact of Energy Renovation and Building Characteristics

“…As shown in Figure 4, the year of dwelling construction was strongly associated with indoor radon concentration (p < 0.001). Older houses had higher radon levels relative to more recently built dwellings, which was in agreement with the findings reported elsewhere [24,25]. We observe a negative linear relationship between log-transformed radon concentration and built year of dwellings (β = −0.002, R 2 = 0.09, p < 0.001, Figure S3).…”

“…Relative to naturally ventilated residences, dwellings with mechanical ventilation systems had significantly lower radon concentrations (geo-mean, 58 vs. 105 Bq/m 3 , p < 0.01). Similar findings were reported by other studies as well [25]. The need for mechanical ventilation in controlling the indoor radon is a priority for dwellings located in high radon risk regions, as evidenced by the increased difference in radon concentrations between mechanically and naturally ventilated houses (geo-mean, 96 vs. 251 Bq/m 3 , p < 0.001).…”

“…Specifically, dwellings with natural ground floor exhibited higher indoor radon levels compared to the ones without (geo-mean, 100 vs. 77 Bq/m 3 , p < 0.01), shown in Table S1. The natural ground floor allowed higher radon infiltration from the natural ground indoors, as similarly reported by Diallo et al [49] and Collignan et al [25]. The geo-mean radon concentration in dwellings with We also observed significant associations between indoor radon concentrations and other dwelling characteristics, including type of the ground, building structure, type of basement, and type of garage.…”

“…Demoury et al[24] evaluated the statistically significant association between indoor radon and geogenic radon potential, building materials and age, and foundation type in French residences. Collignan et al [25] reported that dwellings in radon-prone parts of France, which are equipped with mechanical ventilation systems, had significantly lower radon concentrations than naturally ventilated ones. They also found that the construction materials were the most influencing factors, followed by the type of foundation.…”

Indoor radon monitoring in selected fault zones, Slovakia – preliminary results from the summer monitoring period

“…Other sources, including building material and water extracted from wells, are of less importance (WHO, 2009). The building characteristics as thermal retrofit, presence or absence of a cellar and ventilation type and intensity may also significantly affect IRC (Borgoni et al, 2014;Collignan et al, 2016). Energy saving reconstructions of buildings often results in an increase of IRC (Collignan et al, 2016;Fojtíková and Navrátilová-Rovenská, 2015).…”