Six far north schools latest to be checked for radon
MORE schools in Caithness and Sutherland are to be tested for levels of naturally occurring radon gas.
Highland Council has an ongoing programme to check for the gas in all its properties and this will get under way in December in schools throughout the region, including primaries at Mount Pleasant, Crossroads, Lybster, Reay, Bower and Farr.
Theis phase of the programme is focusing on schools where there is a lower probability of the gas being present.
Radon comes from the tiny amounts of uranium that occur naturally in all rocks and soils. This can seep out of the ground and build up in houses and indoor workplaces.
Small passive detectors will be placed in various confined spaces within the schools for three months to test for radon, after which they will be sent to a laboratory for analysis.
Where radon levels are found to be above a certain level, steps will be taken to reduce it.
