Pilot project to measure radon concentration in different schools in Catalonia

The pilot project of citizen science, air quality and health RASCLET (Radon Awareness in Schools Community Learning Exposure Testing) has been promoted by David Pino, professor of the Department of Physics of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), and Claudia Grossi, lecturer in the same department, in collaboration with Roser Sala, researcher at CIEMAT, expert in environmental risk perception, and pediatricians from the Pediatric Environmental Health Network of Catalonia coordinated by Dr. Ferran Campillo (Hospital d'Olot).

The RASCLET project, funded with an ALECTOR23 grant from the UPC, aims to carry out, thanks to the collaboration between academia, educational centers and health leaders, measurements of radon concentration in different schools in Catalonia that are located in areas classified as at risk on the map of the Nuclear Safety Council.

For 3 months, measurements of the average concentration of radon will be carried out in different schools in Catalonia and both the levels of knowledge of the students before and after the experience will be evaluated, as well as the possible changes in the perception of the risk of radon and its effect on the implementation of protective behaviors.

The results of the average concentrations found in the different schools in Catalonia will be analyzed together with meteorological data from the Meteorological Service of Catalonia and radon exhalation maps. The initial duration of the project will be 7 months with possible continuity.