HC Deb 17 December 1993 vol 234 c1090W
Mr. Chris Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of deaths from radon each year in the United Kingdom; what proportion of the United Kingdom housing stock has been surveyed for radon; what proportion of the housing stock has had remedial action taken; and whether data held by his Department on households where radon levels have been found to exceed the action level will be made available to environmental health departments so that remedial action can be encouraged.

Mr. Yeo

The Department of the Environment has been advised by the National Radiological Protection Board—NRPB—that an estimated 2,000 cases of lung cancer per annum may be attributable to the presence of radon in houses. It is the Government's policy to encourage measurements in radon-affected areas which are designated by the NRPB. We estimate that in those areas some 150,000 dwellings have been measured so far, which represents approximately 11 per cent. of the local housing stock. Regular reports of survey findings are provided to environmental health officers for the local authorities concerned. Reliable estimates of the number of households where remedial action has been taken are not available.