Furthermore, the traditional charge by a farmer for crossing his land is considered to be related to his business of farming the land and not, as has been thought in some quarters, an entrance fee to the cave. If the void is a mine, then the Mines and Quarries Act creates a duty to maintain a secure entrance so as to prevent a person from accidentally entering. Lastly, but not least, professional persons, that is persons engaged in business when under ground, do have legal duties under the IRRs. They must consult with the RPA on the extent to which they need to set up procedures and use special monitoring equipment to comply with the requirements of the IRRs. These duties will be expensive and it is certain that HSE will take a very dim view of any employer found ignoring the IRRs.
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This provides some additional advice on the IRRs and describes a system of work successfully adopted by one outdoor activity centre to meet their duties under the IRRs. Professional cavers will need to conform with another piece of health and safety legislation. But above all else, and despite the early fears, it is now considered that farmers and other business land owners are hardly affected by the legislation. So, as the title of this summary implies, the Radon Working Party has now reached the end of the beginning. The next stage is to acquire a body of data so as to characterise better the radon problem in sites across the country.