| Councillors representing people living
in one of the hot spots for radon gas in Ireland have urged
Minister for the Environment John Gormley to provide grants
for remedial measures for homes and offices where high levels
of the cancer-causing gas are detected.
Louth county councillors have been told that there is currently
no funding available, despite radon being classified as a
group 1 carcinogenic and rated as a health hazard. The Cooley
Peninsula had the highest readings.
Senior scientist Stephanie Long, from the Radiological Protection
Institute of Ireland (RPII),
told the councillors that the reference (acceptable) level
for homes is 200Bq per metre cubed.
Of the 645 homes tested in Louth, 12 per cent are above the
reference level and the highest is 751Bq which “is the equivalent
to two-and-a-half chest X-rays a day,” she said.
Source - The Irish Times
|
