title: Radon prevention in new construction in Finland: a nationwide sample survey in 2009.
abstract: The building code for radon prevention and the associated practical guidelines were revised in Finland in 2003-2004. Thereafter, preventive measures have become more common and effective and indoor radon concentrations have been markedly reduced. In this study, the indoor radon concentration was measured in 1500 new low-rise residential houses. The houses were randomly selected and represented 7 % of the houses that received building permission in 2006. The average radon concentration of all the houses measured, which were completed in 2006-2008, was 95 Bq m(-3), the median being 58 Bq m(-3). The average was 33 % lower than in houses completed in 2000-2005. The decrease was 47 % in provinces with the highest indoor radon concentration and 26 % elsewhere in the country. In houses with a slab-on-ground foundation that had both passive radon piping and sealing measures carried out using a strip of bitumen felt in the joint between the foundation wall and floor slab, the radon concentration was on average reduced by 57 % compared with houses with no preventive measures. Preventive measures were taken nationwide in 54 % of detached houses and in provinces with the highest radon concentration in 92 % of houses.
authors.affiliation: Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority-STUK, PO Box 14, FI-00881 Helsinki, Finland. hannu.arvela@stuk.fi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arvela
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Holmgren
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Reisbacka
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004867:Equipment Design; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005387:Finland; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014691:Ventilation
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011886:Radon