Government criticised for not funding radon safety

THE country’s nuclear watchdog organisation has criticised the government for failing to provide grants to make buildings safe from cancer-causing radon gas.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) said the risk of getting lung cancer through exposure to radon continued to be “an important concern“. It called for money to be made available for householders to install devices to stop the gas seeping into homes in areas with high levels in the soil and bedrock.

Institute chairman Francis Mulligan pointed out that the new Radiological Protection Act brought into law this year provided the legislative basis for a grants scheme for this purpose and he “very much regretted” that the idea was not being put into practice.