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Home office: Federal Office warns of serious health risks if you work in this room

2021-02-16T05:26:10.024Z


According to media reports, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection warns against home office in the basement: Those who work in the basement are increasingly exposed to the noble gas radon.


According to media reports, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection warns against home office in the basement: Those who work in the basement are increasingly exposed to the noble gas radon.

Millions of Germans have been working from home since the introduction of mandatory home office * to curb the number of corona infections.

Some people have moved their

workplaces to the basement

.

Shielded from annoying construction site or traffic noise, work is quietest there.

But the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) does not think this is a good idea.

Radon in the basement: Anyone who works from home there is in the long term at risk of cancer

As the

Wirtschaftswoche

reports, the authority warns urgently of the health risks that a permanent job in the basement could bring.

"

Radon

concentrations

are sometimes

reached

in basement rooms that are

dangerous to health in the long term,

" says Bernd Hoffmann, head of the Radon department at the BfS.

Radon is one of the noble gases and is released when uranium in the soil decays.

Radon enters the basement through poorly sealed subsoil, through cracks or pipe accesses, and collects there.

The consequences can be serious, because

radon is considered to be carcinogenic

.

"Along with smoking, radon is one of the

most important causes of lung cancer

in Germany," said Hoffmann.

Radon is even believed to be the dominant cause among non-smokers.

Around 2,000 deaths in this country are said to be due to the radioactive gas, according to the authority.

Also read:

Home office and no internet?

Then workers have to act quickly.

+

Those who work at home should move their home office to the upper rooms of the house.

The radiation exposure in the basement is often too high.

© Uwe Anspach / dpa

Home office in the basement: check radiation exposure beforehand

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection therefore advises anyone who wants to set up their home office in the basement

to check

their

radon

exposure beforehand

.

The fastest way to do this is with an electronic measuring device that immediately provides the current value.

Cost: Around 150 euros upwards.

Such a measurement gives an initial reference point, but the value can fluctuate widely.

According to

the BfS, the

annual average should

not exceed

300 Becquerel per cubic meter of air

.

Further information on the measurement and the

radon risk areas

in Germany can be found on the website of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

If you still don't want to do without home office in the basement, you can use a few tricks to help: You can

seal

pipe access points and cracks

, or

extract

the gas with a small ventilation system.

Windows open and ventilate not enough, according to the Federal Office.

(as) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

More on the topic: 

Those who work in the home office fly: The company in Bavaria threatens employees with dismissal in the Corona crisis.

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List of rubric lists: © Uwe Anspach / dpa

Source: merkur

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