Since the start of the lockdowns in the corona pandemic, more and more people have been working from home. But beware: Offices in the basement pose a major health risk, depending on the region and the type of house – the good news is that something can be done about it.
Excessive exposure to radon increases the risk of lung cancer
Anyone who works in the basement in Germany for a longer period of time is taking a health risk, because: Depending on the region, one is exposed to increased radon levels in basements in this country. This increases the risk of lung cancer, warns the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). Offices for the home office should therefore only be set up permanently in the basement if increased radiation exposure can be ruled out or countermeasures have been taken.
Radon is a natural noble gas that occurs everywhere. In small amounts, its radioactive radiation is not problematic – but: “Long-term stay indoors with increased radon concentration has been shown to increase the risk of lung cancer, so measures against radon are advisable in some cases,” writes the BfS on its website.
Radon readings are particularly high in certain regions and old buildings
In an interview with WirtschaftsWoche, Bernd Hoffmann from the BfS mentions the limit value: “The measured value should not exceed 300 becquerels per cubic meter on average over the year.” However, this value is sometimes exceeded enormously, so in some regions there are cases where 1,000 to 10,000 becquerels are measured in the basement rooms.
There is an increased occurrence of radon in the soil throughout Germany, with some regions being more severely affected than others. You can find out what these are using the BfS radon maps or the official lists of the federal states. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, some communities in the Black Forest are affected – according to the BfS, the probability that indoor radon levels will be above the limit is ten to 50 percent.
In the fresh air, the radon concentration is not a problem because the gas can disperse. Indoors, on the other hand, it remains locked in after it has penetrated the subsoil into the basement rooms. Therefore, there is an increased risk of a problematic radon concentration in the basement, not only regionally, but also in buildings without a continuous floor slab. This applies in particular to buildings built before 1960, because radon protection now has to be installed in new buildings.
The radon concentration can be reduced with a few measures
“In addition to smoking, radon is one of the most important causes of lung cancer in Germany,” Bernd Hoffmann told WirtschaftsWoche. Every year there are around 2,000 deaths nationwide that can be linked to radiation exposure. Therefore, to be on the safe side, you should definitely measure the radon concentration in your own basement before setting up an office there. This can be done with so-called “nuclear track detectors”, which, according to the consumer portal Chip, can be purchased from laboratories for around 30 euros. The detectors will be set up in the basement for a period of three months and then sent back to the laboratory for evaluation. The BfS clarifies that there are also very cheap measuring devices that deliver a result immediately. Such a result can be useful for an initial assessment, but does not deliver a reliable result, since the radon concentration can vary greatly. Therefore, a longer-term measurement is useful.
Even basement rooms, in which an average radon concentration of over 300 becquerels is actually measured, can be made suitable for home offices. As a first step, the BfS advises opening the windows and ventilating them well, although this is not sufficient as a permanent solution. Instead, ventilation systems should be installed that extract the gas, and raw accesses and cracks can also be sealed. For reliable protection, you should contact radon experts – after the conversions you can work in the basement again without hesitation.
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