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Radon Risk Mapping in the province of Bergamo

Territorial Risk Map

Radon Gas Risk Mapping for the Province of Bergamo

A clear and in-depth view of the radon concentration in the Province of Bergamo. Discover the history of real measurements and the actual incidence of this lethal gas in the Bergamo area.

Provincial Mapping
Frequently Asked Questions

Mapping in the Bergamo Area

One of the most affected provinces in Italy: 117 Bq/m³ as an average concentration calculated over decades of monitoring.

Radon gas, despite being invisible and odorless, is classified as a primary carcinogen and is the cause, in Lombardy and particularly in Bergamo and its Province, of about 15% of total lung cancer cases (Data from the Higher Institute of Health).

During our more than ten years of measurement activity in the Bergamo territory, we have carried out surveys and dosimetry in countless scenarios: private homes, offices, schools, industrial complexes, and historic mining activities in the Valleys. The cross-analysis of both public bodies and our company draws an extremely clear picture: Bergamo, together with Brescia, Sondrio, and Varese, stably ranks among the provinces with the highest exhalations in the Lombardy Region.

The problem lies structurally in the local orography and geology, combined with the construction architecture. The pressure differences (the classic "stack" effect exacerbated in the valleys or during the winter with heating on) constantly aspirate lethal quantities of gas from the strata and micro-faults directly between the domestic walls via cellars, flooring, and joints.

Radon Risk Mapping in the province of Bergamo with the areas of high concentration highlighted and mapped, data processing ARPA Lombardia and in situ measurements

Classification

Very High Exhalation emergency peaks
High Strong Criticality
Medium To be monitored
Low Within the safe average
117 Bq/m³
Provincial Average
Provincial FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Bergamo

Targeted answers for those who live and work in our territory

What is the average radon concentration in Bergamo?
The average level of concentration calculated in homes in the province of Bergamo is 117 Bq/m³, a value significantly and dangerously much higher than the estimated national and foreign average.
Which are the most at-risk provinces in Lombardy?
The maximum and emergency values at the regional level are historically recorded in historically contiguous provinces: Bergamo, Brescia, Sondrio, and Varese. This dramatic convergence is outlined by the Alpine, pre-Alpine geological conformation and the peculiar structure of the area's terracing.
How much does radon gas impact health in the Bergamo area?
According to the rigorous findings of the Higher Institute of Health, this lethal colorless and odorless gas represents a deadly enemy for the respiratory tract and is the direct cause, alone, in Lombardy and in the Province of Bergamo, of about 15% of the total dramatic annual deaths from lung cancer.
How does the gas spread in local buildings?
Radon transudes and penetrates indoors due to atmospheric pressure differences (known as the stack effect). In addition, explicit attention must be paid to the activation of extraction or heating systems (stoves and fireplaces). Many historic homes in Bergamo or those built close to the foothills also have joint cracks, plastered rock perimeter walls, and old foundations that act as real suction sponges for the underground geological exhaler.
What should I do to find out if I live in a house or work in an office at risk?
For preventive safeguard purposes or strict Labor Law (D.Lgs 101/20), the only approved prescriptive method is the installation of passive diagnostic instrumentation. The logical steps are 3:
  • Technical inspection remotely or on site.
  • Positioning of CR-39 dosimeters in the most occupied rooms.
  • Analysis and processing of the Annual Average by qualified radioprotection personnel, provided with certification in accordance with the law.
Which areas or municipalities in the province of Bergamo are most at risk of radon?
Mountain and foothill areas, as well as municipalities located on fluvio-glacial terraces, tend to present higher exhalations. Specifically, the Bergamo Valleys (such as Val Seriana, Val Brembana and Valle Imagna) regularly figure among the territories with significant accumulation rates. However, the geological concentration and the "sponge" effect of soil permeability mean that radon varies drastically even between neighboring buildings, always requiring an in-situ measurement for scientific certainty.
Are there legal obligations for measuring radon in Bergamo?
Yes. Exceeding the recommended thresholds does not only concern private construction. The entire framework of Legislative Decree 101/2020 requires all employers to measure and evaluate the concentration of radon gas in their workplaces with basement, warehouse or ground floor archives (with prolonged employees), obliging a re-evaluation every 8 years, or if significant thermal insulation interventions are carried out.
Can I remediate radon from my cellar or tavern in Città Alta?
Absolutely yes. Historically we have already successfully remediated dozens of prestigious buildings in Città Alta and the Ancient Villages. Even when intervening on thick dry stone walls, mixed masonry or underground barrel vaults from the Middle Ages, we employ methods that respect the architecture:
  • Active soil depressurization or interstitial air extraction ("Radon Sump").
  • Creation of aerated crawl spaces for total isolation from the foundations, such as the cuprex crawl space.
  • Applications of certified sealing for technical gas on micro-cracks, combined with synthetic membranes.
How much does it cost to measure Radon in my home in the province?
Often the use of very expensive diving suits or demolition interventions is hypothesized, but the reality is different: private detection is within everyone's reach. For effective monitoring, a simple kit of CR-39 dosimeters delivered to your home (or installed by our local technicians for legal workplace appraisals) is required. The cost generally amounts only to the analytical development of reporting in the laboratory, representing the absolutely cheapest health prevention insurance.
Do the Region or ARPA perform free measurements for private individuals?
No. ARPA and state institutions deal merely with the scientific census of the territory ("leopard spot") through their inspectors in order to build the historical SINRAD and validate the Geological Map. Any legal evaluation of the microclimate within the walls of a private home, in a condominium, within a commercial activity or company headquarters in Bergamo, strictly remains an individual burden and responsibility for which no public intervention is deployed, and requires privately accredited laboratories and experts.
All Frequently Asked Questions about Radon