50 employees of the Selb border police in the district of Wunsiedel will have to temporarily leave their duty building. They will have to work in a former service building in Schirnding. The reason for the move is that excessive radon levels have been measured in their current duty building in Selb. Radon is a radioactive soil gas that is formed when uranium and radium decay and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Radon remediation of the building will take about a year. After that, all police officers should be able to return to their usual workplaces.
The district of Wunsiedel was declared a radon precautionary area by the Bavarian government because of the radon measurements. Based on measurements taken in the border police service building, it was found that some rooms had excessive radon levels. In order to protect the health of the staff, the building will be renovated for about a year. During this time, the staff will move to another office building in Schirnding. According to the Radiation Protection Act, workplaces with an average value of more than 300 becquerels per cubic meter of air must be remediated to protect the health of employees.
Elevated radon levels can occur in any building
Radon is invisible, tasteless and odorless. It enters indoor spaces through leaky basements and lower floors. The concentration is higher in low mountain ranges and areas with a lot of granite stone. But elevated radon concentrations can also occur near rivers. Owners and occupants of existing buildings can take voluntary steps to reduce radon concentrations. New building owners must take structural measures to prevent radon from entering the building. Workplaces must take action to reduce radon concentrations if the reference value of 300 becquerels per cubic meter of air is exceeded.
The radon risk can be determined quickly
If you too would like to know an initial radon risk value for your residential or work area, use our free ZIP code check.
As we spend more and more time in living and working spaces, radon also poses an ever-increasing risk to us that we should not ignore. If you act quickly and take radon measurements in your rooms, you will quickly find out whether limit values are exceeded or not.
