IRELAND’S RADIATION protection experts have urged people to consider testing their homes for the radioactive gas radon. This follows the release of new research which shows that every county has at least some homes that exceed official safe limits for radon.
Kerry again recorded the single highest radon reading with one home showing levels 245 times higher than the safe limit.
The institute has an ongoing programme of radon testing, looking for “hot spots” of unexpectedly high radon.
The latest round of results released yesterday showed that Sligo had the highest number of homes above safe radon levels, with one in four tested homes exceeding limits.
Waterford follows, with more than one in five homes tested so far found to exceed limits. Galway is next with just over one in five breaking safe limits. While Kerry was further down the list, with 14 per cent of homes tested exceeding acceptable radon levels, 10 of the 15 highest individual measurements were found there.
A home in Co Wicklow registered the second highest single reading, 82 times the safe limit, but only 17 per cent of homes there were above this limit.
The institute has so far measured 38,000 homes. Those with radon above the acceptable limit require simple remedial actions to reduce radon levels.
Radon is a class-1 carcinogen. It is invisible and odourless but can deliver a radiation dose to the lungs. Studies suggest that radon could be an underlying cause in many lung cancer deaths and persistent exposure to even moderate levels carries a risk of one in 50 of contracting fatal lung cancer, according to the institute.
Those living in areas considered “safe” may still show high radon readings, according to the chief executive of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, Dr Ann McGarry, after the release of the institute’s latest radon testing.
Figures for Co Dublin showed 6 per cent of homes exceeded the limits, yet the highest reading was seven times the acceptable levels.
“Our advice is if you are in a high radon area you should certainly get a test done,” Dr McGarry said. The great majority of test results are below the action level, but this was no guarantee. “Have your house tested; don’t assume you have low levels.”
The institute’s website www.rpii.ie has an interactive map showing whether a person lives in a high radon area. Information is also available from freefone 1800 300 600.
The counties with the highest percentage of homes exceeding limits were, in order: Sligo, Waterford, Galway, Carlow, Wicklow, Mayo Wexford, Kerry, Kilkenny, Louth, Clare, Cork, Tipperary, Roscommon, Meath, Westmeath, Longford, Limerick, Leitrim, Dublin, Monaghan, Kildare, Donegal, Laois, Cavan and Offaly.