The opening event of the LIFE-RESPIRE (Radon rEal time monitoring System and Proactive Indoor Remediation) project will be held on Thursday 21 September in the Aula Lucchesi of the Department of Earth Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome.
Evaluating the air quality in confined spaces (public buildings, homes, workplaces, etc.), reducing the exposure of the population to pollutants, is the objective of LIFE-RESPIRE.
In recent years, the introduction of new construction techniques to improve the thermal insulation of buildings has, in fact, reduced the exchange of air inside buildings.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) will be involved in the project activities, through the development of an advanced indoor radon monitoring system. The collected data will be organized in a georeferenced database on the WebGIS platform (geographical information systems - GIS published on the web), accessible to all participating partners.
Furthermore, the development of "WEB mapping" applications (thematic maps available online), will constitute a useful tool for public bodies and the authorities in charge of finding innovative solutions relating to land use planning and for epidemiological research on the radon exposure.
The project includes:
- the application in 4 areas (three in Italy and one in Belgium), characterized by different geogenic potential of radon (Rn), of an economic and eco-friendly instrumentation for real-time measurement and remediation of Rn levels in selected buildings , in order to reach the limit of 100 Bq/m3.
- the construction of a LIFE-RESPIRE geodatabase that allows the real-time storage of continuous measurements of Rn, together with other geological, geochemical data and the construction characteristics of the houses monitored.
- the drafting of guidelines for radon risk and maps of the distribution of radon concentrations (indoors and in the soil) useful to local authorities for the assessment and management of health risk and for territorial planning, according to the development of plans of national action.
The conference will be attended by the project manager, representatives of the research institutes and local authorities involved in the project in various capacities.
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