Public Health England (PHE) - British Geological Survey (BGS) Joint Radon Dataset for England and Wales

The joint PHE-BGS digital radon potential dataset provides the current definitive map of radon Affected Areas in England and Wales. It will also allow an estimate to be made of the probability that an individual property in England and Wales is at or above the Action Level for radon. This information also provides an answer to one of the standard legal enquiries on house purchase in England and Wales, known as CON29 standard Enquiry of Local Authority; 3.13 Radon Gas: Location of the Property in a Radon Affected Area. The radon potential dataset will also provide information on the level of protection required for new buildings under as described in the latest Building Research Establishment guidance on radon protective measures for new buildings (BR 211 2007). This radon potential hazard information for England and Wales is based on Public Health England (PHE) indoor radon measurements and BGS digital geology information. This product was derived from DigMap50 V3.14 and PHE in-house radon measurement data. The indoor radon data is used with the agreement of the PHE. Confidentiality of measurement locations is maintained through data management practices. Access to the data is restricted. This dataset has been superseded by PHE-BGS Joint Radon Potential Dataset For Great Britain. Radon is a natural radioactive gas, which enters buildings from the ground. Exposure to high concentrations increases the risk of lung cancer. The Health Protection Agency recommends that radon levels should be reduced in homes where the annual average is at or above 200 becquerels per cubic metre (200 Bq m-3). This is termed the Action Level. The Health Protection Agency defines radon Affected Areas as those with 1% chance or more of a house having a radon concentration at or above the Action Level of 200 Bq m-3. The dataset was originally developed by BGS with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) which is now part of Public Health England.

Date (Creation): 1998

Citation identifier: http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13480214

Point of contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Originator
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Point of contact
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Processor
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Custodian

Maintenance and update frequency: Not planned

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Geology

BGS Thesaurus of Geosciences

Geochemistry
Geology
UK Location (INSPIRE)
Natural hazards
Radon detection

dataCentre

UK Location (INSPIRE)

Keywords

NERC_DDC

Access constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: Access currently restricted to BGS data managers, system developers and BGS Enquiry staff delivering radon assessments to external clients. Restricted due to confidentiality undertakings with the PHE.

Use constraints: Other restrictions

Other constraints: The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.

Other constraints: Either: (i) the dataset is made freely available, e.g. via the Internet, for a restricted category of use (e.g. educational use only); or (ii) the dataset has not been formally approved by BGS for access and use by external clients under licence, but its use may be permitted under alternative formal arrangements; or (iii) the dataset contains 3rd party data or information obtained by BGS under terms and conditions that must be consulted in order to determine the permitted usage of the dataset. Refer to the BGS staff member responsible for the creation of the dataset if further advice is required. He / she should be familiar with the composition of the dataset, particularly with regard to 3rd party IPR contained in it, and any resultant use restrictions. This staff member should revert to the IPR Section ( ipr@bgs.ac.uk) for advice, should the position not be clear.

Denominator: 50000

Language: English

Topic category

Geoscientific information

Geographic identifier: ENG
ISO 3166_1 alpha-3 2009 revision

Geographic identifier: ENGLAND [id=150000]
British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Geographical hierarchy from Geosaurus 1979 creation

Geographic identifier: WALES [id=170000]
British Geological Survey Gazetteer: Geographical hierarchy from Geosaurus 1979 creation

Geographic identifier: WLS
ISO 3166_1 alpha-3 2009 revision

Begin date: 2011

End date: 2011

Supplemental Information: This dataset has replaced the Geological Radon Potential Data for England and Wales, production of which commenced in 1998 funded by DETR, documented in BGS Research Reports RR/00/07 and RR/00/12 and DETR Report No. DETR/RAS/00.001. The method by which the PHE-BGS joint radon dataset for England and Wales was produced is published in: MILES, J.C.H, and APPLETON J.D., 2005. Mapping variation in radon potential both between and within geological units. Journal of Radiological Protection 25, 257-276. A simplified version of the full data set (showing only the maximum radon potential in each 1-km grid square) was published in 2007 (MILES J.C.H, APPLETON J.D, REES D.M, GREEN B.M.R, ADLAM K.A.M and MYERS, A.H., 2007. Indicative Atlas of Radon in England and Wales. ISBN: 978-0-85951-608-2. 29 pp). Searches of the full dataset are available by postcode from www.UKradon.org or by site area from the BGS enquiries service.

Unique resource identifier: OSGB 1936 / British National Grid (EPSG::27700)

Distribution format

Name	Version
Text. Information for single properties with postcodes available under www.UKradon.com. To access the radon potential information for a site area, the Central Enquiries team at the British Geological Survey should be contacted.

Distributor contact

Organisation name	Individual name	Electronic mail address	Role
British Geological Survey	Enquiries	enquiries@bgs.ac.uk	Distributor

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	http://www.bgs.ac.uk/reference/radon/home.html	BGS Radon Summary Report

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	http://www.bgs.ac.uk/radon/home.html	BGS Radon Protection Homepage

OnLine resource

Protocol	Linkage	Name
	http://www.ukradon.org/	Homepage of UKradon

Hierarchy level: Dataset

Other: dataset

Conformance result

Title: INSPIRE Implementing rules laying down technical arrangements for the interoperability and harmonisation of Geology

Date (Publication): 2011

Explanation: See the referenced specification

Pass: No

Conformance result

Title: Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services

Date (Publication): 2010-12-08

Explanation: See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:323:0011:0102:EN:PDF

Pass: No

Statement: Derivation of radon potential data started as part of two DETR research projects, continued as part of the BGS GeoHazarD programme and is currently under the Hazard Products Team of the Environmental Modelling science directorate.