THE SERIOUS health hazard posed by radon gas is greatly underestimated by the public, despite the fact that it causes up to 200 deaths a year, the Oireachtas committee on environment heard yesterday.
The committee said it would write to local authorities to ask what they were doing to highlight the health risk.
Dr Tony Colgan of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) said between 150 and 200 lung cancer deaths were related to radon exposure every year, compared with some 400 road deaths. Yet spending on road safety measures dwarfed the amount spent on radon safety measures. The simple test to detect radon in a home costs €56 from the RPII.
“Maybe we need to spend a little more time looking at this risk,” he said.
Radon, a radioactive gas, enters homes by rising from the soil. It is particularly high in certain pockets of the country such as the southeast and the west. More than two-thirds of the radiation dose received by the average person in Ireland is due to radon, and smokers are at particular risk of dying from lung cancer related to radon exposure.
Dr Ann McGarry, chief executive of the institute, said “extraordinarily high levels” of radon were found in certain houses, yet only about two per cent of the national housing stock had been measured for radon. “And we are aware that a very small proportion of those houses found to have high levels have been remediated,” she said.
When massive levels of radon were found in a house in Kerry, householders in the area were contacted by the institute but only 10 to 12 per cent took the opportunity to have their homes tested.
Surveys found many people did not know whether their homes had radon sumps or barriers.
Dr McGarry said some local authorities such as Cork County Council and Mallow town council were proactive, but others needed encouragement.
Fine Gael Senator Paudie Coffey said local authorities showed scant interest in attending a recent forum on radon. Just six of the 58 delegates were from local authorities, he said.
Committee vice-chairman Pádraic McCormack said the members would write to local authorities to ask what they were doing to highlight the issue and to establish whether builders were following regulations in including radon sumps or barriers in new homes, depending on the location.
Dr McGarry also repeated her concern about the lack of a national facility for the storage of radioactive sources and materials no longer in use.
An interdepartmental committee is now looking at this issue.
