Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety www.ages.at Overview: The Austrian Radon Action Plan including Radon Database & Radon Risk Communication Angelika Kunte, Wolfgang Ringer, Gernot Wurm IAEA Workshop Tallinn, Estonia; May 23th – 27th, 2016 Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
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Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety www.ages.at
Overview: The Austrian Radon Action Planincluding
Radon Database&
Radon Risk Communication
Angelika Kunte, Wolfgang Ringer, Gernot Wurm
IAEA WorkshopTallinn, Estonia; May 23th – 27th, 2016
Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
Main focus of this presentation
1 Overview: Radon situation in Austria
5 Summary & Conclusion
2 Current status of the Austrian Radon Action Plan
4 Radon Risk Communication
3 The Austrian Radon Database: Pro‘s & Con‘s
3
Radon situation in Austria
5
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
population RPK 3radon potential > 400 Bq/m³
population RPK 2radon potential 200 - 400Bq/m³
population RPK 1radon potential 0 - 200Bq/m³
AUSTRIA: 9 federal states
• Total population: 8,6 mio.
Affected population
6
Average radon concentrationin buildings (ref.: WHO)Bq/m³
Austria
Current legal frame for radonprotection in Austria
7
• 1992: „Recommendation concerning reference levels for indoorradon concentration“ by the Austrian Radiation ProtectionCommission with the following key elements:
- action level (400 Bq/m3 for existing buildings)
- design level (200 Bq/m3 for future buildings)
- set up a radon potential map
- set up guidelines for mitigation and prevention
- inform the public
Current legal frame for radonprotection in Austria
8
2004: Amendment to the Radiation Protection Act (StrSchG) - §38b „Regulation concerning radon in dwellings“
The responsible ministry (BMLFUW) is legally obliged to• collect all radon data in a central data base
• set up appropriate radon maps,
• inform the public on regions with elevated radon potential
• set up recommendations to reduce exposure to radon.
• make available all relevant information to the public and the authorities
2008: Ordinance on exposure due to natural radiation sources (NatStrV) § 2 (1) Z 1.: Workplaces with potentially elevated radonexposures (water supplies, underground workplaces, show mines andcaves, radon spas)
No specific regulation or obligation yet for public buildings, schools, kindergartens, workplaces!
9
Building legislation: OIB-Directive 3
Building legislation is responsibility of federal states →harmonisation through so-called OIB-directives.(OIB … Austrian Institute of Construction Engineering)
Radon:OIB-RL 3, ch. 8.2: „Habitable rooms are to be effected(designed/constructed) so that there is no harm to the health of theuser due to … radonemission from the ground.“
The annotation to the OIB-RL 3 refers to the reference levels andstandards.
In 8 out of 9 federal states compulsory → information of thebuilder/owner through the building authority in the process ofgiving the construction permit.
Status Quo
Dwellings
− Free radon test kits for private homes: ca. 400 dwellings per year− Radon mitigations: ca. 10 per year− Preventive measures in new buildings: ca. 40 per year− Consultancies via the radon hotline: ca. 100 per year
Only a small percentage of the effected companies have done themandatory dose assessment for their workers so far.
Conclusion: The impact on the improvement of the over all radon situation in Austria of the current radon legislations andvarious actions is currently quiet small.
10
Tendency
11
Development of the Austrian Radon Action Plan: Current status
12
Much know-how acquired over the past 25 years !!!
BUT: Little impact in terms of overall reduction of radonrisk (preventive measures mandatory but often not implemented; only 0.1% of houses expected to be > 400 Bq/m³ mitigated; low public awareness) → future task
Milestones of the past – summary
� Appointment of a national radon centre !
� Better understanding of factors determining the indoor radon concentration !
� Radon in dwellings is included in Radiation Protection Act !
� Radon protection in building code !
WP 3: workplaces & public buildings
WP 2: Radon prone areas
WP 1: Reference Levels
WP 4: New buildings & existing buildings
WP 6: Radon strategy & action plan
WP 5: Risk communication & training
National RadonAction Plan
Development of a National Radon Action Plan
14
Schedule for those sixworkpackages
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
Fachvorschlag Referenzwerte
Methoden Messwertbeurteilung
Umsetzung des daraus resultierenden Handlungsbedarfs
Fachvorschlag Qualitätssicherung Messstellen
Konzept Verbesserung Radonpotenzialkarte
Sammlung und Test weiterer Parameter
Fachvorschlag Definition und Darstellung Radonrisikogebiet (Basis OÖ)
Fachvorschlag Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Sanierungstätigkeit
Fachvorschlag Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Vorsorge
Fachliche Prüfung von Methoden und Normen - Sanierung
(Erarb. Radon-Handbuch)
Fachliche Prüfung von Methoden und Normen - Vorsorge
Fachvorschlag QS baulicher Radonschutz
Fachvorschlag Radon Immotransfer
Fachvorschlag Kommunikationsstrategie
Fachinformation Radonschutz in EU-BSS
Fachvorschlag Radonschutzstrategie
Fachvorschlag Radonmaßnahmenplan
Fachvorschlag konkrete Maßnahmen
Budgetabschätzung konkrete Maßnahmen
Verknüpfung mit anderen Themen
Arbeitspaket 5: Radon-
Risikokommunikation und Ausbildung
Arbeitspaket 6: Radonschutzstrategie,
Maßnahmenplan
2015 2016 2017 2018
Arbeitspaket 1: Referenzwerte
Arbeitspaket 2: Radonrisikogebiete
Zeitplanung Arbeitspakete Radon
Arbeitspaket 3: Arbeitsplätze
Arbeitspalet 4: Bestehende Gebäude
und Neubauten
15
Some thoughts on thedetermination of reference levels
� EU BSS requests 300 Bq/m³ at the highest…
� The reference level has a direct impact on…
- Number of buildings that should be mitigated- Expenses for remediation to decrease radon conc. below the RL- Radon testing effort
� Impact of lowering the RL from 400 Bq/m³ to 300 Bq/m³ for existingbuildings on the over all radon situation in Austria:
− More dwellings above RL (ca. 7 % instead 4.4 %)− High effort to detect those dwellings above RL − Willingness to take mitigation measures when above RL still stays
very low
� For new buildings: raising the RL from 200 Bq/m³ to 300 Bq/m³ will not have a big impact or cause any changes.
� Documentation of all data:
- Results of radon tests
- building data
- personal data
� Basis for:
- Austrian Radon Potential Map
- Transfer of knowledge
- Support for projects, radon testing
- effective monitoring of radon programmes 16
The Austrian Radon Database:Purposes & Benefits
� Important tool for evaluationand control of various measuresat national and provincial level
The Austrian Radon Database
� Legal requirement: Radiation Protection law §38b states…
…the ministry of environment has to provide a central radon data baseto inform the public about the radon exposure
� Web based central database Administrator: National Radon Centre
� Access via gantries
� Project started: 2008, data base was launched: 2010
� User tests and debugging over a 6 month period
(incl. maintenance, service, up-dates…)
� Since then: several up-dates and improvements17
The Austrian Radon Database
� Currently: 32.922 data
� Training for all users provided by the National Radon Centre
� Users: Provincial governments, radon testing labs, ministry ofenvironment (BMLFUW), National Radon Centre of Austria
� Costs (2009 until today): ca. € 300.000.-
(incl. maintenance, service, up-dates…)
18
Request to department
(OÖ)
Database owned by
department
Data to measurement
lab
Database owned by lab
Data to department
(OÖ)
• f.e.: in Upper Austria (OÖ)
Previous procedure (before centraldatabase)
19
Who, Where, What, When,
How?
• f.e.: Upper Austria (OÖ)
Current procedure
20
Implementation
• Workflow:
- registration
- order to measuring lab
- data acquisition
- prevention
- Remediation
• Central DB which collects:
- personal data
- building data
- measurement data
- data about prevention, remediation
• XML interface:
- LIMS-connection (LIMS… Laboratory Information Management System)
- Radon Potential Map
- knowledge transfer
Radon
database
National Radon Centre
� Organisation
� Laboratory
� Administrator
� Offers Trainings
� nationwide
Provincial Governments
� Organisation
� Only data available for the federal state
Laboratories
� Different access rights than the organisations
Order
Remediation
Prevention
Radon testing
Value ranges
Testing campaignLaboratory
Data export
SearchAdress comparison
Administration
Different access rights fororganisations and labs
What it looks like… radon database login
•Assignment:
- create assignment
- edit or duplicate assignment
- propose a measure
What it looks like… radon database login
•Assignment:
- create assignment
- edit or duplicate assignment
- propose a measure
•Prevention and remediation:
- documentation
What it looks like… radon database login
•Assignment:
- create assignment
- edit or duplicate assignment
- propose a measure
•Prevention and remediation:
- documentation
•Measurement:- data acquisition:
o building
o type of measurement system
o measurement values
- data export (xml, csv)
- print out questionnaire
What it looks like… radon database login
•Assignment:
- create assignment
- edit or duplicate assignment
- propose a measure
•Prevention and remediation:
- documentation
•Measurement:- data acquisition:
o building
o type of measurement system
o measurement values
- data export (xml, csv)
- print out questionnaire
•Administration tools:- to define:
o measuring campaigns
o measurement labs
o values , e.g. measuring instrument
- address comparison (with PAC)
- interface for data migration
- user settings (e.g. permissions)
What it looks like… radon database login
•Assignment:
- create assignment
- edit or duplicate assignment
- propose a measure
•Prevention and remediation:
- documentation
•Measurement:- data acquisition:
o building
o type of measurement system
o measurement values
- data export (xml, csv)
- print out questionnaire
•Administration tools:- to define:
o measuring campaigns
o measurement labs
o values , e.g. measuring instrument
- address comparison (with PAC)
- interface for data migration
- user settings (e.g. permissions)
•Data export and search:- export to XML or CSV:
o personal data
o building data
o data about prevention, remediation
o measurement data
- search:o adress data
28
Future Option: Online Tool for directentry into the radon database
� Developed by theKarlsruhe institute oftechnology
� Comparable tool in use by FANC (Belgium)
� Login KIT database
29
•Die Logindaten sind:
•Schul-ID: SC9999
•Passwort: sUm_15(RIS)
No “dead
bodies”, no
blood from
radon
People feel safe
at home
No physical evidence
(no smell, no taste,
not visible)
Many things
cause cancer
No symptoms
It’s natural, it’s been
always there →
nobody to blame
Radon risk communication
… a rather unique communication challenge because: