Long term durability of radon remedial measures in a sample of UK homes

A study to determine the long term effectiveness of commonly used radon remedial methods over a 15 year period is discussed. The overall failure rate for remediation systems was 63%, with roughly equal rates for passive and active type systems. The fans used in active systems performed better than expected, with many of them exceeding manufacturers' stated life spans by several years. The study found that all types of remedial measure can last more than ten years, but also found examples for all measures that failed in less than five years. This supports HPA advice that homes should be retested every 5-10 years. It was also noted that householders found it difficult to detect failures in passive systems. The need for a follow-up study is discussed, in light of likely changes in building practices and materials during the last twenty years.