Sustainability assessment of waterproof membranes for radon mitigation in buildings

Gas radon is the main source of ionising radiation for humans and the second cause of lung cancer, just after smoking. Radon is present in the ground, and its concentration differs soil by soil according to the permeability and the mineral composition. Since radon mainly penetrates a building through cracks and fractures at the foundation level, it is necessary to focus on that area. The problem of high radon indoors concentration is present largely in Europe and in those countries where the heating indoors is privileged since there is a high-temperature difference between outdoors and indoors in winter. The waterproof membranes placed continuously in the structures that are in contact with the soil are one of the cheapest and easy-to-install radon mitigation solutions. Membrane-based measures, like all remedial measures, represent operational and embodied environmental impacts; the lasts were more or less ignored so far. Still, as buildings are becoming energy-efficient and should ensure a high level of indoor comfort, the environmental impacts of these membranes are recognised as being noteworthy and shall be methodically examined. The paper aims to assess the contribution of embodied impacts of five macro-categories of membranes that could be installed to protect buildings against radon. The embodied impacts are calculated for the A1-A3 LCA stages and compared against each other in relation to one square meter and the radon resistance.