The Lab  /  Radon Testing

You cannot see it, smell it, or taste it. You can only measure it.

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that seeps from the ground into buildings. It is rarely measured in UAE homes, and measuring is the only way to know your level.

100 Bq/m³
the WHO recommended indoor reference level1
Invisible
colourless, odourless and tasteless: only instruments detect it1
Three ways
short-term, long-term and continuous measurement
Nuclear sciences
measured by our in-house specialist and laboratory
What radon is

A gas from the ground beneath the building.

Radon forms naturally as uranium and radium in soil and rock break down. It rises from the ground and enters buildings through foundations, cracks and service gaps, and because it is colourless, odourless and tasteless, it can accumulate indoors entirely unnoticed, particularly in enclosed, ground-contact and poorly ventilated spaces.1

How much radon a building holds varies widely, with the local geology, the construction, the season and the ventilation. Two homes on the same street can differ. That is the whole reason it cannot be assumed or estimated: the level in your building is specific to your building, and the only way to know it is to measure it.2

Why measuring matters

The reason a reference level exists at all.

The World Health Organization identifies radon as the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide after tobacco smoking, which is why it sets a recommended indoor reference level at all.1 That is the established science, and it is why the level in a building is worth knowing rather than guessing.

What Saniservice provides is the measurement of your environment, an accurate reading of the radon level in your space, against international reference levels. We report the air, not the person.

Any question about health is one for a medical professional, not for us. We measure the environment and document the result; what that result means for anyone's health is a conversation for a doctor.

How we measure it

The right method depends on the question.

Radon fluctuates by the hour and the season, so a single quick reading and a true picture are not the same thing. We use the method that fits what you need to know.

i.

Short-term

A measurement over a few days. The fastest way to screen a space and flag whether radon is present at a level worth investigating further.

ii.

Long-term

A measurement held over months. Because radon rises and falls with weather and use, a long measurement is far closer to the true average a building actually sits at.

iii.

Continuous

Hourly readings from a continuous monitor. These reveal the pattern, how the level moves through the day and with ventilation, which is what diagnosis and any follow-up rely on.

The measurements are carried out and interpreted by our in-house team, including a microbiologist in nuclear sciences, so the reading you receive is read by someone who works in this specialism rather than sent to a generic provider. It is part of The Lab, our indoor environmental science division.

The reference levels

What the number is measured against.

100 Bq/m³
World Health Organization
The WHO recommended reference level, above which action to reduce radon is advised. WHO further recommends national levels not exceed 300 Bq/m³.1
4 pCi/L
US EPA · about 148 Bq/m³
The US Environmental Protection Agency action level, the point at which it recommends taking steps to reduce indoor radon.2

We report your measured level against these recognised references, so the number means something the moment you read it, rather than sitting without context.

We have done this

Radon, measured and optimised in a real Dubai villa.

Our case-study library includes a documented radon investigation, comparing short-term, long-term and continuous monitoring in a residential villa, and what the choice of method changed about the result.

Read the study →
The only way to know

You cannot estimate radon. You can only measure it.

Request a radon measurement for your home or building. We will measure it properly, against international reference levels, and give you a documented reading you can act on.

Request a radon measurement
References & standards
  1. World Health Organization. Radon and health. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas and, after tobacco smoking, the second leading cause of lung cancer worldwide; WHO recommends a reference level of 100 Bq/m³ and that national reference levels not exceed 300 Bq/m³. who.int
  2. US Environmental Protection Agency. A Citizen's Guide to Radon. Radon levels vary by building and location and can only be determined by testing; the EPA action level is 4 pCi/L (about 148 Bq/m³). epa.gov/radon

Saniservice presents environmental measurements only. The references above describe the gas, its measurement and recognised reference levels; they are not statements about any individual's health.