Radon levels in the air directly impact health, as it is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which, when continuously inhaled in high concentrations, can cause serious damage to the respiratory system, becoming the second most important cause of lung cancer, behind tobacco, according to the World Health Organization.

Therefore, ensuring a correct measurement of radon in the air in a building's habitable premises is critical to ensuring the population's health. For this reason, Royal Decree 732/2019 amends the Technical Building Code (CTE) incorporating the requirement that laboratories carrying out such a measurement must be accredited by ENAC according to the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard, since only accredited laboratories provide maximum reliability in the validity of their results.

Accreditation enables a laboratory to demonstrate that it uses technically valid and controlled methods and procedures, that it has the necessary equipment and facilities, and the right technical knowledge and experience, and carries out its activity under strict quality control.

There are now three ENAC-accredited laboratories carrying out these types of tests.

 

Accreditation: justified confidence for the Administration

Environmental protection and control isle an issue of great importance for both national and international administrations. As a result, the public sector is increasingly relying on accreditation as a mechanism to ensure the safety and integrity of activities involved in key sectors such as health, cybersecurity or environmental protection.