Take advantage of Radonova‘s wide variety of reliable radon measurement solutions and give your customers the best service available
Radonova News
Radonova Customer Meeting on April 9th 2024
On Thursday April 9, 2024, the second edition of the Radonova customer meeting in Switzerland took place in Bern. We would like to thank all participants in this meeting, without whom the success of this meeting would not have been possible.
New detector return address
The company Ecosens, in charge of collecting and returning detectors to the laboratory, is moving out. From April 22, 2024, please send the detectors to the following address:
Ecosens AG
Hammerweg 1
8304 Wallisellen
What is radon ?
Radon is a radioactive noble gas that is naturally present in all layers of rock. It is the heaviest of all natural gases and is seven times heavier than air alone. Radon is formed from radium-226, which in turn is the decay product of uranium-238. In addition to radon, the gaseous radon issotopes thoron and actinone are also formed in this decay process.
However, these gases decompose within seconds and are not dangerous to humans. Radon-222 has a half-life of 3.8 days. However, since radon is constantly being formed from radium or uranium, which has a half-life that is several zeros higher, the problem of radon exposure in radiation protection always remains acute.
Radon-222 breaks down into the radioactive heavy metal isotopes polonium-218, bismuth-214 and lead-214 to the no longer radioactive end product lead-206. In the wild, the substance mixes with the surrounding air.
There is no danger for humans here and the radiation exposure in the air is only 1 to 30 becquerels per cubic meter. However, there is a risk in closed rooms, where radon enters the living space mainly through the basement, but also through pipes, ducts and building material containing radon and accumulates in the living air. In addition, radon can enter the house through the groundwater and unfold its effect.
Radonova : the global leader in radon measurement
With customers in more than 80 countries across the world, and working with more than 40 official radon measurement providers in Switzerland, Radonova is the Swiss and World’s leading laboratory in the field of radon measurement.
Our state-of-the-art laboratory for producing and anaylizing detectors as well as our workshop for manufacturing our instruments is located in Uppsala, Sweden where more than 30 highly qualified employees work every day to keep the quality of our products and services at the highest level. The company is also reknown for investing a large part of its resources in R&D, research and customer service to ensure the best service and expertise possible to its customers.
Radonova is laboratory that takes its roots in the universitary world as the company was first created in the 80s by reserchers in charge of evaluating the ceasium impact of Chernobyl’s catastroph in Sweden.
Following this background, Radonova is also a member of several international organizations dealing with the issue of radon. For example, its membership in the European Radon Association is evidence of the company’s commitment and sense of responsibility.
Radonova is a company within the Lagercrantz Group .
Radon measurement in Switzerland
Radon Action Plan 2021-2030
Despite having a population relatively well educated regarding radon compared to many other countries in Europe, (55% of the population declares having a knowledge about radon) a lot of buildings remain to measure.
Indeed, according to the Radon Action Plan 2021 – 2030, only 6% of all buildings in Switzerland has been measured for radon to date. Among those buildings, 10% are showing radon concentrations above the reference level of 300 Bq/m3.
Radon in Switzerland is therefore an issue and lots of measurements still have to be conducted in the coming years throughout the country and regardless the location of the building on the map. Indeed, construction design and occupiers habits have a higher impact on indoor radon concentration than natural hazard itself.
When to measure radon ?
Measuring radon in Switzerland is regulated by the ordonnace on radioprotection (ORaP) of the 26th of April 2017.
The ordonance definies several cases where radon measurement hcan or have to be performed :
- Permission procedures for new buildings and extensions (art 163): an evaluation of the radon situation must be performed to ensure that the levels of radon will remain below the reference level of 300 Bq/m3.
- Schools and public buildings (art 164) : The canton is responsible for measuring radon. The measurement has to be performed by an approved radon measurement provider.
- Worplaces (art 165) : workplaces exposed to radon must be measured for radon. As for achools and public buildings, radon measurements have to be conducted by an approved radon measurement provider
Who can meaure radon ?
According to the article 159 or the ORaP, regulated measurement framed by the ORaP must be performed by an approved measurement provider listed by the FOPH.
As the Swiss leader in radon measurement, Radonova is working with a lot of approved measurement providers who made the choice of quality by working with us.
Note that of course it is always possible to conduct a radon measurement on goodwill without using the services of an approved measurement provider. However, the measurement will not have any legal value.
Our radon measurement solutions
Radonova has been developing radon measurement solution for over 30 years and can provide high-end performances detectors and instruments in Switzerland.
Radon detectors
Accredited Laboratory
Radonova is accredited ISO 17025 to guaranty best quality
Short delivery and analysis time
We deliver with UPS express savers DDP and ensure a toll-free return offer
Online reporting
Report your radon measurement through our unique web service “My Pages”
Radon instruments
Hand made instruments
All our instruments are handcrafted in our workshop in Uppsala, Sweden.
Calibration certificates and service
Radonova provide calibration service and certificates to all our instrument rannge
Fast availability and delivery
We deliver with UPS express savers DDP service ensuring fast deliveries within 48h.
More than 30 years experiences in more than 80 countries
ISO 17025 accredited radon laboratory
Radon measurement methods approved by METAS
Actif member of the European Radon Association