Work with ionising radiation that requires notification

You must notify the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of certain low-risk work you carry out with ionising radiation.

You will need to notify HSE if you work in an atmosphere containing radon above an annual concentration of 300 Bq m^-3. This is the most common reason for employers being required to notify HSE.

You may also need to notify HSE if you work with:

• artificial radionuclides or naturally occurring radionuclides, which are processed for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties 
• naturally occurring radionuclides which are not processed for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties 

However, in the vast majority of cases for this work, you will need to apply to HSE for a registration – read about work with ionising radiation that requires registration.

Work in an atmosphere containing radon above an annual concentration of 300 Bq m^-3

If the radon concentration in your workplace is above an annual average of 300 Bq m^-3 you must notify HSE. If you have done taken multiple measurements, notify HSE of the highest.

If your workplace is below ground or in a radon affected area your risk assessment should include the measurement of your employees' exposure to radon. The radon concentration measurements done as a result of your risk assessment will indicate the  annual average concentration in units of Bq m^-3.

Examples of when you would need to notify

You work in a:

• school in a radon affected area and have radon concentration measurements at or above the 300 Bq m^-3 level. 
• shop in a radon affected area and have radon concentration measurements at or above the 300 Bq m^-3 level. 
• hospital basement not in a radon affected area and have radon concentration measurements at or  above the 300 Bq m^-3 level. 

• You work underground (for example a show cave or mine) and have radon concentration measurements at or above the 300 Bq m^-3 level. 
• You have performed multiple measurements in your workplace, with some providing results under an annual average of 300 Bq m^-3, but with one or more results above.

Notification for multiple sites

You only need to notify this work once for all sites that are under your control where you carry out work with ionising radiation.

For example, if you have 5 different sites all working with notifiable levels of naturally occurring radionuclides which are not processed for their radioactive, fissile or fertile properties, you should only notify HSE once, for all the relevant sites.

Fee

There is no fee charged for notifying HSE.