A private boarding school has been fined £50,000 after exposing five pupils, two employees and their children to high levels of radioactive radon gas. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Kingswood School in Bath had not monitored radon levels for eight years.
Kingswood School Trustees Limited pleaded guilty to the offences. “We are sorry that we have fallen short in the management of this important element,” a school spokesperson said.
The radioactive gas radon is a hazard in many homes and workplaces and breathing it in is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the UK.
The five Kingswood School pupils were exposed to levels of radioactive radon gas almost eight times the legal limit in 2019 while studying at the school, said the HSE. Two employees were also exposed to radioactive radon gas ¾ of the legal limit and their two children, who were living with them at the school but were not pupils, were exposed to levels of radon gas almost 14 times the legal limit in the same year.
An investigation by the HSE found the school knew they had a radon problem as far back as 2007 when they carried out monitoring and installed some remediation to reduce radon levels. Investigators found that from 2010 to 2018 the school carried out no subsequent radon monitoring and had no systems in place to ensure radon control measures were good enough.
Only following HSE intervention in 2018 did the school find out about their previous radon problem and further radon monitoring and remediation was carried out to reduce radon levels.
A Kingswood School spokesperson added: “While the overwhelming majority of our school has radon levels that are similar to those across the rest of Bath, because of our location, we have a small area of our school where radon levels can exceed the minimum standards. A number of measures were installed in a small number of areas in 2010 to mitigate the risk of higher-than-average radon levels. Regrettably, however, after the installation of these devices, the school did not adequately monitor and record radon levels between 2010 and 2019.”
Somerset Council (SC) is committed to reducing exposure to radon gas that could be inhaled and cause serious harm to health. The SC Property department will contact maintained schools and corporate premises managers when monitoring is due. Discussions are ongoing about VA school monitoring, and we will let schools know soon.
Learn more:
- Bath school given £50,000 fine for exposing pupils
- Somerset Council Radon Policy
- UK maps of radon
- TLC Radon training (Corporate)
- Blackboard Health & Safety training (Schools)
Contact:
Email: fmcontractmanagement@somerset.gov.uk
