RADONIN OUR HOMES
3.1

Design: ASN and IRSN Communications Departments - October 2021
Graphic design and production: www.kazoar.fr - Pictograms: Freepik, Kazoar - Photos: tilo/IStock, paulprescott72/IStock
Reproduction prohibited without the agreement of ASN/IRSN. For further information: contact@irsn.fr

RADONIN OUR HOMES

NATURAL
RADIOACTIVITY:
THE EXAMPLEOF RADON

Uranium is present in all soils and more particularlyin the granitic and volcanic rocks of certain regionsof France. This uranium is transformed into a seriesof radioactive elements, including radon, a gas thatcan migrate to the surface of the soil. Radon ispotentially dangerous to human health if it
accumulates in living spaces.

RADON IN MY HOME?
Inhabitants' exposure differs from one
household to another: radon penetrates by
various routes (cracks, pipe penetrations,etc.) and accumulates in confined spaces
such as cellars, basements or inadequately
ventilated rooms.
It can also dissolve in groundwater and be
found in tap water and thermal waters.

RADON
IDENTITY CARD

Finally, radon decays into other radioactiveelements, notably polonium.

Radon is odourless, colourlessand radioactive.
It decays, emitting alpha particles andsolid progeny (polonium, lead, bismuth),which are also radioactive.
Its most common and stable isotope,radon-222, has a half-life of 3.8 days.

WHAT DANGER
DOES RADON REPRESENT?
Radon can be dangerous
to health if it accumulates
in living spaces.
It is estimated to be the second mostcommon cause of lung cancer in France.
It is particularly prevalent in granitic
and volcanic regions.

THE RADON AND
RADIOACTIVITYAPP
Estimate your individual level of exposure tonaturally-occurring radioactivity in France injust a few clicks, and calculate the radon potentialof your locality by installing the application
on your smartphone.

3.2

Design: ASN and IRSN Communications Departments - October 2021
Graphic design and production: www.kazoar.fr - Pictograms: Freepik, Kazoar - Illustration: La-fabrique-créative/Bruno Bourgeois
Reproduction prohibited without the agreement of ASN/IRSN. For further information: contact@irsn.fr

RADONIN OUR HOMES

WHAT ISTHE ORIGINOF RADON?

A radioactive element, such as uranium, can betransformed into another radioactive element,
which will in turn be transformed, and so on.
This is known as a decay chain. Radon comesfrom the uranium-238 decay chain.

THE URANIUM
DECAY CHAIN
POLONIUM-214
radiation
Half-life: 165 microseconds
LEAD-210
radiation
Half-life: 140 days

BISMUTH-214
radiation
Half-life: 20 minutes

BISMUTH-210
radiation
Half-life: 5 days

LEAD-214
radiation
Half-life: 27 minutes

POLONIUM-210
radiation
Half-life: 140 days

POLONIUM-218
radiation
Half-life: 3 minutes

LEAD-206
StableRADON-222
radiation
Half-life: 4 days

RADIUM-226
radiation
Half-life: 1600 yearsThe minerals in this granitic rock,for example, contain uranium,thorium and radium simultaneously,
and radon gas is released.

THORIUM-230
radiation
Half-life: 75,000 years

URANIUM-234
radiation
Half-life: 250,000 years

PROTACTINIUM-234
radiation
Half-life: 1 minute
THORIUM-234
radiation
Half-life: 24 days
URANIUM-238
radiation
Half-life: 4.5 billion years

Most of these decays are also accompanied by gamma raysof varying energy.

Some radioactive elements
are very short-lived:
as soon as they appear,
they disappear, likelightning.
Others are as oldas the Earth.

3.3

Design: ASN and IRSN Communications Departments - October 2021
Graphic design and production: www.kazoar.fr - Pictograms: Freepik, Kazoar - Illustrations: La-fabrique-créative/Bruno Bourgeois, B2 infographics - Photo: Julien Boyer-Malzac/Adobe Stock
Reproduction prohibited without the agreement of ASN/IRSN. For further information: contact@irsn.fr

RADONIN OUR HOMESRADON IN FRANCEThe radon potential map shows thepotential radon concentration in buildings
for each French municipality.
This can be explained by the geologicalnature of the soil.

CONSIDERABLE VARIABILITYACROSS THE COUNTRY
The geology of France is highly varied. The diverse nature of rocks means that radon
concentration levels vary widely.
What's more, in the same area, depending on the structure of the soil, the architectureof the dwellings and the time of year, the radon concentration in the air can vary
greatly: from 10 to over 10,000 becquerels per m3 of air.

Geological map of France:
red areas represent granitic soils

RADON
CONCENTRATION Category 1
Zone with lowradon potential Category 2
Areas with low radonpotential but whereparticular geologicalfactors may facilitate
the transferof radon to buildings Category 3
Zone with significant
radon potential

These two maps show
the relationship between
the nature of the soil
and the potential presenceof radon in the home.
There is a greater risk ofradon where there is granite,which is a uranium-richrock.

MAPPING
AT LOCAL LEVEL
Created by IRSN, the map identifies themunicipalities in which the presence of radon
at high concentrations is most likely in buildings,
in order to better manage the risk for the publicand workers.

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

RADON
IN YOUR HOMES?

Find out more about theOrder of 22 July 2004 at
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr

Find out more by scanning the following QR Codeor visiting http://www.irsn.fr/carte-radon

3.4

Design: ASN and IRSN Communications Departments - October 2021
Graphic design and production: www.kazoar.fr - Pictograms: Freepik, Kazoar - Maps: IRSN, BRGM
Reproduction prohibited without the agreement of ASN/IRSN. For further information: contact@irsn.fr

RADONIN OUR HOMESRADON INMY HOME?

WHAT TO DO?
Effective protective measures are available
to reduce radon levels in indoor air.

SCREENING
To protect yourself from radon, the first thing to do is to measure its
presence in your home. The presence of radon is measured using adetector. The radiation emitted leaves measurable traces in the detector.

VENTILATE 

It is recommended that these detectors be installed in the main living
areas for at least two months during the winter months.

Radon levels can be reduced
through good ventilation
practices and by improving
ventilation in the home.

Equipment can be used to make a more accurate diagnosis and guidethe search for radon entry and passage routes.

PLUG /DRAIN
In addition to evacuating the radon, you need to limit its
penetration into the building by, for example, improving theleaktightness of floors (sealing cracks and pipe penetrations)or diverting radon flows by installing an air exhaust system(to the outside).

NEW BUILDINGSWITHOUT RADON
To protect yourself from radon,
it may be a good idea to think about
installing systems to limit radon
penetration (crawl spaces, geotextile
membranes, soil depressurisationsystems, etc.) and promote adequate air
renewal (ventilation, etc.) right fromthe initial construction plans.

WHO SHOULD YOU CONTACT TO BUY A DETECTOR?
• ALGADE• SANTÉ-RADON - PE@RL
1, avenue de Brugeaud
87250 Bessines-sur-Gartempe, France
Tel: +33 (0)5 55 60 50 00
algade@algade.com
www.algade.com/2017/08/04/radon/• EUROFINS

20, rue Atlantis
87068 Limoges Cedex France
Tel: +33 (0)5 55 43 69 95
contact@sante-radon.com
www.sante-radon.com• RADONOVA

Campus de Ker Lann – Parc de Lormandière
35170 Bruz, France
Tel.: +33 (0)2 23 50 13 80
nucleaire@eurofins.com
www.eurofins.fr/nucleaire/

3.5

82 rue du Guéméné
56770 Plouray, France
Tel: +33 (0)7 55 53 91 81
www.radonova.fr

Design: ASN and IRSN Communications Departments - October 2021
Graphic design and production: www.kazoar.fr - Pictograms: Freepik, Kazoar - Illustration: La-fabrique-créative/Bruno Bourgeois
Reproduction prohibited without the agreement of ASN/IRSN. For further information: contact@irsn.fr