Tag Archives: radon

RADON gas is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and Clare has one of the highest rates of radon in the country, with 18% of monitored houses in the county recording high levels of the gas. On foot of an awareness campaign, the EPA is encouraging householders to check the levels of radon in their homes and take measures to reduce their exposure to the silent killer. Senior scientist with the EPA and manager of the radon and radiation measurements services, David Fenton, said acceptable levels of radon within the home are anything up to 200 units but, in the last 12 months, a recording 10 times that was found in Ennis. “In County Clare, the highest level we found was 3,500 units near Lisdoonvarna in a private house in 2010. The radiation dose that people in that house were receiving would be the equivalent of 12 chest x-rays a day. The more we measure, the more …

  A home in Ennis was found to have more than three times the acceptable level for radon gas, the equivalent to receiving two chest x-rays a day, according to figures revealed by the EPA’s Office of Radiological Protection. The details emerged as the EPA raised concerns about the low rate of testing for the cancer-causing gas in Clare. The figures show that in the first six months of 2015, three homes in Ennis and one in Doolin tested above the acceptable level of 200 becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3), with one home in Ennis measuring levels of 620Bq/m3. However, according to the EPA, the rate of testing in Clare is very low, with only 26 homes having been tested for radon in the first six months of 2015. A total of 4,301 homes have been tested in Clare to date and, of these, 538 tested above 200 Bq/m3. Commenting on the latest findings from the county, Stephanie Long, senior scientist with the …