Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that poses a significant health risk when it accumulates in enclosed spaces. Produced by the natural decay of uranium in soil and rock, radon can seep into buildings through floors and walls in contact with the ground. Prolonged exposure to elevated concentrations significantly increases the risk of lung cancer and is the second leading cause of the disease in the UK, responsible for an estimated 1,100 deaths each year.
Radon can affect any type of building, and for organisations with responsibility for large, geographically dispersed estates, ensuring compliance with radon legislation requires a structured, logistically considered approach. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) – a Special Health Authority responsible for blood, organ, and tissue donation and transplantation services – recognised this challenge and commissioned PropertECO to undertake a comprehensive radon testing programme across its national portfolio of hospital, donor centre, and administration sites.
The challenge: a complex, nationally distributed estate
NHSBT operates across a diverse network of sites throughout England. These include blood donor centres handling significant public footfall, busy manufacturing and processing departments within blood centres, administration offices and facilities with limited or variable opening hours. Some sites are unmanned for extended periods, creating logistical challenges for access and coordination.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are legally obligated to assess and manage radon risk in workplaces located in regions designated by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) where a meaningful proportion of properties are expected to exceed the action level of 300 Bq/m³. If radon concentrations exceed this level, the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) apply to work taking place in the building. With sites spanning multiple counties and regional radon risk profiles, NHSBT required a specialist partner capable of delivering a consistent, validated testing programme at scale.
PropertECO was contracted to carry out the work under a ‘place and collect’ model: a structured programme in which passive radon detectors are professionally deployed across each property, left in place for a defined exposure period, and subsequently retrieved for laboratory analysis.
| 29
Sites tested nationwide |
176
Passive detectors deployed |
3
Month monitoring period |
100%
Sites met compliance levels |
Planning the programme: precision before deployment
Effective radon testing begins before a single detector is placed. For a programme of this scale, thorough pre-visit preparation was essential to ensure that the right number of detectors was deployed in the right locations, and that access arrangements could be accommodated without disrupting NHSBT operations.
PropertECO’s approach included:
- Review of building floorplans for each of the 29 sites prior to attendance, enabling PropertECO to determine the appropriate number and positioning of passive detectors for each property based on its layout and use.
- Geographic planning of site visits to cluster locations efficiently, minimising travel time and ensuring programme delivery within a defined timeframe.
- Operational scheduling tailored to NHSBT’s working patterns, with visit times arranged to avoid disruption to donor sessions, clinical operations, and administrative functions.
- Accommodation of access constraints at sites that were unmanned or had limited opening hours, with visit windows coordinated accordingly.
Central to the smooth running of the programme was the appointment of a single point of contact within NHSBT to coordinate access arrangements across all sites. This significantly streamlined communication and ensured that site-level logistics were managed consistently from the outset.
Deployment: placing detectors across the national estate
Detector placement was carried out during March and April 2025. A total of 176 passive radon detectors were deployed across the 29 sites, a quantity informed by the pre-visit floorplan review, which allowed PropertECO to match detector numbers to the size and configuration of each location.
Passive detectors were selected for this programme due to their proven accuracy over extended measurement periods and their non-intrusive nature. Unlike electronic monitors, they require no power source, generate no noise or disruption, and can be placed discreetly without affecting day-to-day operations. Each detector was positioned in accordance with UKHSA guidance, in regularly occupied areas at ground and lower floor levels where radon accumulation is most likely to occur.
The detectors remained in place for approximately three months, consistent with the minimum exposure period recommended for reliable radon measurement and in line with the risk assessment expectations of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Collection took place during June and July 2025, with laboratory analysis completed and results issued to NHSBT shortly thereafter.
The findings: all sites within safe limits
Following laboratory analysis of all 176 detectors, PropertECO issued a detailed report to NHSBT presenting the results for each site. The findings were positive: no locations were found to have radon concentrations exceeding the workplace action level of 300 Bq/m³.
This outcome reflects both the geological risk profile of the tested sites and the benefit of proactive testing. The NHSBT now has a documented baseline of radon levels across its estate, providing clear evidence of compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, and a foundation for ongoing monitoring.
As part of the results report, PropertECO provided guidance on re-testing frequencies for each site, in line with UKHSA recommendations. Regular re-testing is an important element of a robust radon management strategy: radon levels can vary over time due to changes in building fabric, ventilation, or ground conditions, and periodic measurement ensures that any future changes are identified and addressed promptly.
“Working with NHSBT on a programme of this scope was a rewarding project. The coordination required to manage access across 29 sites, many with demanding operational schedules, was considerable, and the central contact arrangement made a real difference to the efficiency of the process. The results are very reassuring: NHSBT can now evidence that radon has been properly assessed across its national estate and has a clear framework in place for ongoing compliance.”
Rebecca Coates, Head of Radon Projects, PropertECO
“Considering NHSBT has a large estate across England, working with PropertEco to conduct the Radon testing made the process as efficient and smooth as possible. The staff and engineers were highly reliable, professional and communicative throughout the whole process. Additionally, Rebecca Coates conducted a CPD session for our staff in Estates and Facilities and Technical Services and all of those who attended found the session extremely informative and the in-depth knowledge of Radon demonstrated by Rebecca showed that we’d made the correct choice in commissioning PropertEco to conduct our testing. Special thanks also to Harriet for her help in coordinating the testing across our estate.”
Bethany Thomas, Senior Technical CAFM Administrator, NHS Blood & Transplant
Education: building radon awareness across the estates team
Compliance with radon legislation is not solely a matter of measurement, it requires building understanding among those responsible for managing the estate day to day. Where staff are unfamiliar with radon and the reasons behind testing, they may be unable to answer queries from building users or colleagues with confidence.
To address this, Rebecca from PropertECO also delivered a dedicated radon awareness CPD webinar to NHSBT’s full estates team. The session covered:
- What radon is, how it forms, and how it enters buildings
- The health risks associated with elevated radon exposure and why the 300 Bq/m³ action level is established
- The legal obligations on employers under the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and IRR 2017 and the role of UKHSA Affected Area designations
- How passive radon detection works and what the testing process involves
- How to interpret results and what steps should follow if elevated levels are identified
- Best practice for ongoing radon management, including re-testing schedules
By equipping estates staff with this knowledge, NHSBT is well positioned to manage radon as a routine part of its wider health and safety responsibilities and to communicate confidently with employees, contractors, and building users about the steps the organisation has taken.
Conclusion: proactive compliance at national scale
PropertECO’s partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant demonstrates how a complex, geographically dispersed radon testing programme can be delivered efficiently and with minimal disruption to an organisation’s operational activities.
Through careful pre-visit planning, coordinated access management, accredited detector deployment and collection, and a professional CPD education session, NHSBT has achieved documented compliance with its radon obligations. The organisation now holds a verified baseline across all 29 tested sites and has a clear, evidenced pathway for ongoing monitoring.
For large NHS bodies and public sector organisations with responsibility for diverse, multi-site estates, this approach demonstrates that radon compliance need not be an organisational burden, with the right specialist partner, it can be managed systematically, proportionately, and with confidence.
Does your organisation need radon testing?
PropertECO delivers validated radon testing, monitoring, and mitigation for NHS bodies,
public sector estates, and large commercial portfolios across the UK.
Contact us: hello@properteco.co.uk | www.PropertECO.co.uk
