Free Radon Gas checks all homes in Ireland.

Sceala Philosopher Location: Mullingar

Radon gas is a danger that can be checked for. The checks should be free.

This recent unwelcome European record.. proves the need.
Tests have found a home in Castleisland, north Kerry, with one of the highest amounts of naturally-occurring radon ever found in Europe only a few kilometres from the record level detected in 2003.
Checks for Radon gas should be free in Ireland.
From rpii.ie
The principal source of exposure to radiation in the home is from radon gas. Radon comes from the ground and may accumulate in your home to unacceptable levels. Long-term exposure to the radioactive gas can lead to lung cancer. Therefore, we recommend that everybody should have their home tested for radon, regardless of where they live or how old their house is.
Checks for Radon gas should be free in Ireland.
It makes perfect business sense... any home that was found with high levels would require work. The scheme if managed effectively... would be self funding.
If the checks can not be free for everyone... they should at least be free in known high radon gas areas.
There are people using scams to make money out of the fear of radon gas... they prey upon the vulnerable.. the elderly and naive in Ireland.
Radon Gas Map of Ireland, detailing areas known to be at high risk.
Irish Community Images

Press Association news confirms the need for a national policy and it has to be free.
Thousands of households are living unaware with a cancer-causing gas, experts have warned.

Tests have found a home in Castleisland, north Kerry, with one of the highest amounts of naturally-occurring radon ever found in Europe only a few kilometres from the record level detected in 2003.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) said that out of 5,000 homes tested in the nine months to June, more than 800 showed high levels.

Radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking and is directly linked to about 200 deaths from the disease in Ireland each year.

Dr Ann McGarry, RPII chief executive, said tests show Ireland has a significant problem with the colourless, odourless gas in homes.

"We predict that there are thousands more homes across the country with high levels of radon gas," she said.

"To date, only a very small proportion of these homes have been identified. Exposure to high radon levels causes lung cancer and many people are unknowingly living with very high levels in their homes. The only way people will know if it is in their homes is by testing."

Record radon levels in Donegal. A house in Lifford has been found to have the highest levels of radon gas in County Donegal
Donegal's worrying levels of radon gas
Donegal County Council has been asked to put measures in place to promote awareness of the dangers of Radon Gas after it emerged that five per cent of homes in the county have high levels of cancer causing radon gas.
Radon, a colourless, odourless and tasteless radioactive gas is linked to up to 200 lung cancer deaths each year in Ireland. Figures from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) show that 562 houses here have high levels of the gas.
At a meeting of the local authority Cllr. Dessie Larkin raised the issue and explained there are a number of areas outside Letterkenny which have high concentrations of the potentially lethal gas.

Record radon gas level found at Co Cork office
An office in Mallow, Co Cork, has been identified as having the second highest reading ever detected in the country for the radioactive gas radon.
The Radiological Protection Institute says the level present at The Corkman newspaper was 60 times higher than the acceptable limit.
Radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer in Ireland, causing up to 200 deaths per year.
Advertisement Radon is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas which occurs naturally from the decay of radioactive uranium in rocks and soils. It only becomes a problem when it builds up in basements of houses and offices. The institute said levels at one office of The Corkman newspaper in Mallow would be equivalent to receiving 39 chest X-rays per day, or nearly 10,000 in a working year.
However, the RPII said the office in question was largely unoccupied, and so the risk to employees was significantly reduced. The RPII's Chief Executive, Dr Ann McGarry, said over 100,000 homes and offices are estimated to be at risk and while the Corkman took the appropriate action, many others were being irresponsible for not testing for radon.

Radon is created when uranium in rocks and soil breaks down and it is regarded as a class one carcinogen. Experts estimate that in Ireland a 70-year lifetime exposure to radon at the acceptable level - 200 becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3) - carries a one in 50 chance of contracting fatal lung cancer. That is twice the risk of dying in a road accident.

The RPII said smokers, or reformed smokers, face up to 25 times greater risk from radon than non-smokers.

An interactive map is available on the RPII's website - rpii.ie - for householders to see whether their home or workplace is in a high radon area.
Free Radon Gas checks all homes in Ireland.
Measurement of radon levels in Ireland.
Information Radon Gas In Ireland
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that results from the decay of uranium in rocks and soils. The gas is colourless, odourless and tasteless and can only be measured using special equipment. When radon surfaces in the open air, it is quickly diluted to harmless concentrations, but when it enters an enclosed space, such as a house or other building, it can sometimes build up to unacceptably high concentrations. Radon from the ground enters buildings chiefly through cracks in floors or gaps around pipes or cables.

Radon decays to form tiny radioactive particles, some of which stay suspended in the air. When these particles are inhaled into the lungs, they give a radiation dose that may damage cells in the lung and eventually lead to lung cancer.
Radon concentration is measured in becquerels per cubic metre of air (Bq/m3) - the becquerel is a unit of radioactivity and corresponds to one radioactive disintegration per second.
National Radon Survey

The National Survey of Radon in Irish Dwellings was conducted by the Radiological Protection Institute (RPII) between 1992 and 1999. The RPII is the national organisation with regulatory, monitoring and advisory responsibilities in matters relating to ionising radiation. The survey assessed radon levels in Ireland and identified those parts of the country where high indoor radon levels are more likely to be found.
The survey involved measuring radon over a 12-month period in a random selection of houses in each 10 x 10 km National Grid square throughout the country. The results were used to predict the percentage of houses in each grid square in which the radon concentration is in excess of 200 becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3) - the National Reference Level. Grid squares where the percentage is greater than 10% are designated High Radon Areas.

The RPII has published the results of the National Survey of Radon in Irish Dwellings and has produced a map entitled "Radon in Irish Dwellings", ,which shows the predicted percentage of houses above the National Reference Level for each grid square. You can view county radon maps by clicking on the county. You can also view a table that summarises the results of the radon survey for each county.
Measuring radon

The RPII recommends that all householders have their homes tested for radon.
The level of radon in a house can be measured simply and inexpensively. It is usually carried out by placing two small testing devices (detectors) in the house for three months. At the end of this period, the detectors are sent back to the testing laboratory for processing. This procedure can be carried out entirely by post. A three-month measurement period is recommended because radon levels in a house can vary considerably from day to day as a result of changes in the weather conditions, ventilation, building usage, etc.
The radon measurement service is confidential. The RPII will not release the result of any measurement to anyone other than the person who requested the original measurement.

Building Regulations and radon
Since July 1998, every new house or long-stay residential building must incorporate some degree of radon preventive measures at the time it is built, in accordance with the revised Building Regulations of 1997. The degree of radon protection required depends on whether the site is located within an area with high or low levels of radon.

Two levels of protection are laid down in the Regulations: a basic or precautionary level that applies to new buildings in all parts of the country and a more advanced level that applies to new buildings in designated High Radon Areas.
The Building Regulations require that new buildings in all parts of the country include a potential means of reducing radon levels, should high levels be found in the completed building. In the case of dwellings of normal construction, this is usually achieved by means of a radon sump, as described in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's publication " Radon in Buildings " , which can be purchased from the Government Publications Sale Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Tel: 01 661 3111. The RPII recommends that, once occupied, all new buildings should be tested for radon. If the radon level is above the National Reference Level, the radon sump or some other means of reducing the radon levels should be activated.

In High Radon Areas, the Building Regulations stipulate that, in addition to providing a potential means of reducing radon levels, measures should be taken to protect the building from radon in the ground. For a residence of normal construction, this means that a fully sealed low-permeability membrane should be provided in addition to a radon sump.

For further information contact, contact the Radon Department of the RPII by e-mail at radon.ie or telephone Freephone Radon 1800 300 600.
Radon in the workplace

Exposure to levels of high radon can occur in the home, in school or in the workplace. Indoor radon levels vary greatly from one building to another and in some workplaces, radon can be a significant source of occupational exposure to ionising radiation.

Occupational exposure to natural radiation sources, including radon, has been subject to regulatory control in Ireland since May 2000. This change is in line with the most recent revision to the Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive (Council Directive 96/29/EURATOM), which establishes a common basis for radiation protection legislation in all EU Member States.

In Ireland, the laws and regulations needed to comply with the Directive were brought into force by the Radiological Protection Act, 1991 (Ionising Radiation) Order, 2000 (Statutory Instrument 125 of 2000). The Order sets a National Reference Level for radon in workplaces of 400 Bq/m3 averaged over any three-month period. In accordance with the Order, an employer or self-employed person responsible for a workplace is required to measure radon levels in the workplace if he or she is directed to do so by the RPII. The RPII has produced Guidance Notes for Planning Radon Surveys in Workplaces, which should be studied when planning radon surveys in workplaces.

If radon levels in a workplace are found to exceed the National Reference Level, the Order requires that the employer take measures to safeguard the health of workers. The employer must evaluate whether remedial measures to reduce the radon levels in the workplace should be undertaken. Where this evaluation shows that remedial measures are necessary, the employer must implement such measures as soon as is practicable.

Where remedial measures are not shown to be justified or where they fail to bring levels below the National Reference Level, the employer must apply radiation protection measures in the workplace. Such measures might, for example, include the organisation of work schedules to reduce exposure to radon, making and keeping radon exposure records, medical surveillance and controlling access to areas in the workplace where radon levels have been shown to be high.
Rates

The RPII provides a radon measurement service (consisting of two radon detectors) to householders at a price of 40 euro. You can buy additional detectors for 24 euro each.

An A1 size version of the map "Radon in Irish Dwellings" can be purchased directly from the Institute for 15 euro.
How to apply

More information on radon, including an application form for a measurement, can be obtained by contacting the Institute on Freephone Radon 1800 300 600

You can download the RPII's Radon in Homes booklet. This booklet contains an application form that can be printed out and returned to the Institute with the appropriate payment.
Radon Ireland
Irish Community Images

Register

The Irish Community have posted
9 REPLIES TO THIS TOPIC
for logged in members to view.

Irish Forums Message Discussion :: Free Radon Gas checks all homes in Ireland.

Free Radon Gas checks all homes in Ireland.