This article is from page 9 of the 2013-11-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
ALMOST one in five Clare homes tested were found to have high levels of cancer-causing radon gas.
According to the figures released by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII), one home in Ennis had 10 times the acceptable level of this potentially killer gas equivalent to 2, 500 chest X-rays per year.
In addition to the home in Ennis with the highest level, a home in Clonlara had more than five times the acceptable level of the radioactive gas.
A further 14, seven in Ennis and one each in Clonlara, Corofin, Killaloe, Kilnaboy, Newmarket-onFergus, Quin and Sixmilebridge, had levels of radon above the acceptable level.
In its latest publication of results from completed radon tests in the past year and a half, more than 430 homes from across the country have been identified by the RPII as having high levels of radon.
Radon is the second larget cause of lung cancer after smoking and is directly linked to more than 200 lung cancer deaths each year in Ireland.
In Clare, 87 tests for radon gas were completed in the past year and a half and of these 16, or approximately one in five, were found to be above the acceptable level.
David Fenton, Senior Scientist at the RPII, said, “We know that Clare has a particular problem with radon and yet only a fraction of homeowners have tested. Our research shows that, of the homes already tested, there is a large percentage with high radon levels.”
“Tens of thousands of homeowners in Clare have yet to test for radon and among them are many thousands that are unknowingly being exposed to this cancer causing gas. It is really important for people to test their home for radon as this is the only way of protecting your family,” said Mr Fenton.