At PropertECO, we are dedicated to raising awareness about radon, its health implications, and the importance of testing and mitigation. While we often discuss radon’s risks and regulations, we rarely take a step back to explore its fascinating history: how it was discovered, the evolution of our understanding, and the steps taken to protect people from its harmful effects.
The Discovery of Radioactivity
The story of radon begins at the turn of the 20th century, a time of groundbreaking scientific discovery. In 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German physicist, discovered X-rays. The following year, French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel made the accidental yet crucial discovery of uranium salts emitting an unknown type of radiation. This revelation later laid the foundation for the study of radioactivity.
Building on these discoveries, Marie and Pierre Curie identified two new radioactive elements in 1898, polonium and radium. They then introduced the term “radioactivity” to describe the spontaneous emission of energy from unstable atomic nuclei, a principle that would later help scientists understand radon.
Radon’s Discovery
In 1900, Friedrich Ernst Dorn, a German physicist, observed a mysterious gas being emitted when examining the radioactive decay of radium. He initially named it “niton” after the Latin word nitens, meaning “shining.” But it wasn’t until 1923 that the element received the name we know today: radon.
At the time, radon was highly sought after for its supposed healing properties and being relatively easy to source compared to radium. It was even used in cancer treatments before its dangers were fully understood.
Understanding Radon’s Health Risks
Though the dangers of radon were not immediately recognised, historical records suggest that its effects had been noticed long before its official discovery. As early as the 1500s, mine workers in poorly ventilated mines suffered from what was then called “mountain sickness.” In 1879, German researchers Herting and Hesse identified this illness as lung cancer.
The connection between radon exposure and lung cancer became even clearer in the 20th century. After World War II, nationwide studies in the United States revealed alarmingly high lung cancer rates among uranium miners. This led to regulations around how long a miner could work in a radon-contaminated mine.
Radon Awareness in the UK
In the UK, radon was first documented to be found indoors in 1950 and by the 1970s, the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) advised that excessive exposures to radon should be reduced. The NRPB proposed the first control strategy, still used today, based on the concept of a radon Action Level and the identification of radon Affected Areas. Such risk assessment prompted the Health Protection Agency and the British Geological Survey to carry out expansive research into radon levels across the UK and to create an ‘Affected Area Map’. Here is one of the first publications of the map:
(NRPB Radon Affected Area Map, 1994)
As concern about radon increased, the UK’s National Board of Health conducted more research into radon emanation in 2001, leading to more regulations on threshold levels, further testing techniques and mitigation methods. What’s more, in 2009, the World Health Organisation identified radon as the second cause of lung cancer globally after smoking.
As technologies improved and data became far easier to access, the UKHSA released an interactive and digitized version of the Radon Affected Area map where users can now simply type in their postcode and find out whether they live in a Radon Affected Area. In fact, here’s what the map looks like now:
The UK Radon Association
Founded in 2013 with just five members, the UK Radon Association (UKRA) was created to uphold high industry standards in radon testing and mitigation. Today, UKRA boasts 27 trusted members who are dedicated to improving radon awareness and safety.
One of UKRA’s most significant contributions is its bi-annual Radon Symposium, launched in 2016, which brings together experts to discuss the latest advancements in radon research, policy updates and new mitigation techniques. UKRA also spearheaded UK Radon Awareness Week, which was launched in 2015, to further educate the wider public about radon’s dangers.
PropertECO’s Testing and Mitigation Solutions
PropertECO was founded in 2011 by Martin Freeman and Rebecca Coates, with a mission to provide specialist radon services in the UK.
Martin Freeman, a pioneer in the UK radon field for over 30 years, played a crucial role in advancing radon awareness and mitigation. As Chairman of the UK Radon Association and a member of the European Radon Association’s Executive Committee, he was instrumental in pushing for greater recognition of radon hazards among policymakers, building professionals, and the public. Martin’s expertise in radon remediation led to innovative solutions for managing radon in complex buildings. His passing in 2023 was a significant loss to the industry, but his legacy continues through PropertECO’s work.
Rebecca Coates, co-founder of PropertECO, has become one of the UK’s leading educators on radon risk communication. Rebecca has dedicated over a decade to increasing public awareness about radon’s health risks, and her expertise in communicating its risk has made her a sought-after speaker, including an invitation to the International Radon Symposium in the USA.
PropertECO’s Contribution to Radon Safety
PropertECO is at the forefront of radon research, testing, and mitigation, offering a comprehensive range of services including:
- Radon testing for homes and businesses
- Mitigation system design and installation
- Training and consultancy for professionals
With over 25 years of technical knowledge and hands-on experience, PropertECO continuously seeks out global innovations in radon detection and remediation.
Want to find out more about what we do? Contact our team today.
