12 chest x-rays a day

RESIDENTS of a house in North Clare were this week found to have been living with levels of cancer-causing radon gas equivalent to having 12 chest X-rays per day.
The house in Lisdoonvarna was among 600 across the country, including 32 in Clare, found to have elevated levels of radon gas. However, the radon level in the house in Lisdoonvarna was the highest among the nearly 4,300 tests carried out and more than 17 times the acceptable level.
Radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking and is linked to 150 to 200 lung cancer deaths each year in Ireland.
The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, which released the figures, said it is working with the householder in Lisdoonvarna and others around the country to ensure successful remediation of their homes to reduce the radon levels and risks to their health.
More than one in five homes in Ennis and its environs, Crusheen, Corofin, Ruan, Kilnamona, Inagh, Clarecastle and Newmarket-on-Fergus are predicted to have radon levels in excess of the acceptable level of 200 Bq/m³.
Areas of Clare registered where more than 10% of houses are predicted to have high radon levels in excess of 200 Bq/m³ include the entire North Clare area from Kilshanny to Belharbour and Carron to Doolin, along with Ballynacally, Shannon, Sixmilebridge, Bunratty, Quin, Tulla and Feakle.
In light of the levels discovered in the Lisdoonvarna premises, Minister for Defence Tony Killeen has urged householders across the county to test their homes for the naturally-occurring radon gas.
“It is very likely that there are more homes in Clare with similarly high radon levels and, therefore, I would urge people to test for the gas and reduce their risk of lung cancer. Exposure to radon gas is linked to some 200 lung cancer deaths each year in Ireland,” the minister stated, who was formerly minister with responsibility for the RPII.
Minister Killeen urged all householders, particularly those living in high radon areas, to have their homes tested.
“It is unnecessary for the public to put themselves at risk from radon. Householders need to take this matter seriously and measure radon levels in their homes to ensure that they and their families are not at risk. Where there is a need to reduce levels, remediation is relatively cheap compared to other household repairs and resolves the situation immediately,” he said.
North Clare Councillor Martin Conway admitted he has not tested his own home in Ennistymon for radon levels.
“I, like many more, haven’t done the test in our house and this is a wake-up call for myself and everyone else and we plan on doing the test in the very near future,” he told The Clare Champion.
“The situation is very worrying, particularly for the people who live in the house in question and I would encourage everyone to do the radon test as it would appear that North Clare seems to be in the ‘at risk’ category. For people’s own peace of mind it would be money well spent to carry out the necessary test,” he continued.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Ann McGarry, chief executive of the RPII said, “We know that radon levels in Ireland are among the highest in Europe and there are an estimated 91,000 homes out there with high radon levels. The vast majority of householders have not had their home tested for radon gas. These figures show us that thousands of families throughout the country are unknowingly living with very high concentrations of radon gas and therefore they have no idea that they are at increased risk of developing lung cancer.
“Homeowners need to take this matter seriously and measure radon levels in their home. It doesn’t matter if you live in a new or old house, in a high or low radon risk area, or even if your home already has a radon barrier. The only way to make sure that you and your family are not at risk is to test,” she concluded.
Radon comes from the decay of uranium rocks and soils, is odourless, colourless and tasteless and can only be detected using special devices. In the environment, it dissipates into the air but in enclosed spaces it can accumulate to unacceptably high concentrations, giving rise to a radiation dose which may cause lung cancer.
Testing for radon involves the placing of one radon detector in a bedroom and a second in a living room for a three-month period. The detectors are the size of an air freshener and can be sent and returned by post for analysis.