IRELAND HAS the sixth-highest radon levels in the world, with up to 200 people a year dying as a result of the build-up of radon gas in households.
That is according to the World Health Organisation, which yesterday called for a multi-agency approach between the Health Service Executive, local authorities and the Radiological Protection Institute to tackle known problem areas.
Speaking at a national forum on radon in Dublin, Dr Ferid Shannoun of the WHO said no single agency was generally equipped to tackle the build-up of radon gas. This was, he said, "particularly the case in a country like Ireland that has such high radon levels".
The Department of the Environment later confirmed the Government had no specific budget to combat radon gas emissions and no specific grants scheme would be available to private householders to retro-fit radon barriers to existing homes.
A spokeswoman for the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) said the multi-agency approach would be financed from the existing resources of the State agencies involved or from the private means of homeowners.
The spokeswoman pointed, as did Dr Shannoun, to a successful scheme in north Co Cork where the health services, local authorities and the RPII had combined to reduce radon levels in homes.
The scheme in Mallow town involved the discovery of radon by the radiological institute, a risk-assessment by the institute and the health services and remedial measures taken by Cork County Council in council-owned property.
Private homeowners were advised of the best course of action by the multiagency taskforce. The spokeswoman said radon monitors were available relatively inexpensively through the RPII website, as was a list of contractors qualified to carry out mitigation measures.
A spokesman for the department confirmed the absence of grants for the private householder but said in certain circumstances the work could be covered by the housing aid for older people grant scheme.
