Radon: a problem, but whose problem?
Radon has been around since the dawn of time and is estimated to cause over 1,100 lung cancer deaths per year in the UK - yet it is still misunderstood. With disparity between local authorities on what should be done, the role Contaminated Land Officers need to play is also subject to debate.

This half-day event will provide an overview of radon risks, share local authority radon projects, discuss responsibilities, and consider where NCLOG fits into the radon issue. There will be four speaker presentations, followed by a panel discussion with all speakers.

Speakers

John Naylor, Ground Gas Solutions: An introduction to Radon

John has over 20 years professional experience working within the contaminated land and landfill arenas for both the public and private sectors. He has worked to improve the contaminated land investigation, assessment, remediation and verification at both consultant and regulatory posts. A pioneer of continuous ground gas monitoring methodologies, John has helped to establish guidance in ground gas issues, working closely with professional bodies, consultants, local authorities and landowners. As well as developing verification and validation best practice and training. John is a Chartered Environmentalist and is an active member of several organisations including the British Verification Council and The Radon Council (current vice chair).  He has helped author and also been part of steering groups for several documents related to ground gas matters and regularly provides training to fellow professionals.

Robert Tyler, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Addressing radon in basements in ‘so called’ non-affected areas

Robert has dealt with contaminated land in local government for 25 years, with over 15 years spent working in London. Apart from the full range of Part 2A and planning work, career highlights have included working on the 2012 Olympics (whilst at LB Hackney), more recently being directly involved in the Grenfell Environmental Checks process (at RB Kensington and Chelsea)  and serving the communities he’s worked for.  Robert is on the steering group of the West and East London Land Contamination Officers Group (WELLCOG), attends the National Brownfield Forum and has previously served as a committee member on the Geological Society Land Contamination Group and the National Contaminated Land Officer’s Group.

Russell Lawley & Antonio Ferreira, British Geological Survey: The Radon Potential Map (Mapping an invisible gas using geology that we can’t always see)

Russell Lawley is a geoscientist at the British Geological Survey and has over 35 years of experience in geological appraisal and spatial informatics. His main areas of expertise are in digital geological characterisation for engineering, geophysical and geochemical purposes, notably for hazard assessment, ground conditions for shallow infrastructure and more recently, development of shallow geothermal resources. For the last 20 years Russell’s primary role has been to oversee delivery of the BGS digital Geological products which include the primary BGS Geology mapping, BGS Civils and Radon Potential (jointly developed with UKHSA). More latterly his role has concerned the challenges of knowledge transfer and communication of BGS information to an ever-widening stakeholder cohort, at a time of significant change in data development, analysis and exploitation (by humans and machines alike).

Antonio Ferreira is an experienced Environmental Geochemist working for the British Geological Survey since 2014.  He has a 5-year graduate degree in Geological Engineering, a MSc in Geochemistry and a PhD in Geosciences from the University of Aveiro (Portugal). He led the first low density geochemical mapping of Portugal and has been involved in projects on geochemistry of marine shelf sediments, on digital geological mapping and 3D geological modelling and on the statistical analysis of soil and stream sediment geochemistry data and U-Pb isotope ages in detrital zircons. Since his arrival at British Geological Survey, he has been working on the statistical analysis of indoor radon data and geology in the frame of the collaboration with the UKHSA for the development and production of radon risk maps in the UK. This led to the Radon Map for Great Britain released in December 2022. He has been involved with the European radon community, contributing to the European Atlas of Natural Radiation among other publications. He has been involved in the statistical analysis and mapping of UK soil and stream sediment geochemical data, including projects related with strategic resources such as Lithium and Rare Earth Elements.

Dr Laura Toal, Renfrewshire Council: Invisible risk, visible action: Planning and implementing a programme of radon monitoring in Council properties

Laura has 20 years’ experience working in the contaminated land community in Scotland. She has worked in both the private and public sector, and is currently Specialist Contaminated Land Officer at Renfrewshire Council, based in Paisley. She currently represents Central/West local authorities on the Scottish Government’s Contaminated Land Advisory Group, which provides a forum for dialogue and discussion between Scottish Ministers and representatives of the Contaminated Land community. Laura has a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Biogeochemistry and PhD in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Glasgow – radon is a bit different to her usual day-to day-ConLand workload, but it fits well with her background knowledge and interest in geology and environmental chemistry.

Who can attend?
This event is open only to NCLOG members.

Membership of NCLOG is free to all Contaminated Land Officers working in local authorities. If you would like to join NCLOG, please contact NCLOG Officer Ellie Savage (ellie@the-ies.org). The National Contaminated Land Officers Group (NCLOG) brings together contaminated land professionals working in local authorities. NCLOG’s mission is “to act as the voice for contaminated land officers in the UK and promote consistency across the sector."
 

Any other questions?
If you have any other questions about the NCLOG Radon Forum, please get in contact with the NCLOG Officer Ellie Savage (ellie@the-ies.org).