A study on the problematic impact of "low-consuption buildings" on indoor radon pollution

The built environment is responsible for up to 30% of the world’s energy consumption, for this reason architects are asked to improve the technical quality of their projects so to attain higher levels of efficiency in terms of energy use. Regulations have been promoted in many European Countries based on the Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament on the energy performance of buildings. Mandatory targets of energy efficiency are achieved by improving the quality of the enclosures of buildings: besides excellent thermal insulation, an airtight sealing of leakages is of the utmost importance to fulfill those requirements. On the other hand, air-tightness produce the negative effect of increasing the indoor concentration of air pollutants, radon among the others, that comes inside the building from the soil through the basement. Despite the seriousness of the problem is generally misconceived, long-term exposition to radon is acknowledged to be the second cause of lung cancer after tobacco addition. An analysis of the distinctive characteristics of “green” buildings is presented by the paper and their correlation with the indoor air quality is discussed. Great attention is paid to radon pollution since it’s presence in buildings depends by typological factors and construction techniques, above all by the coupling of the building to the ground. Authors discuss the effectiveness of reduction techniques and prevention criteria, highlighting those suitable for low consumption buildings and proposing typological schemes and construction techniques for new buildings