FG call for investigation of ‘killer’ gas levels
A home in Castleisland, Co Kerry, was found to have the highest levels of radon gas ever found in Europe and there are fears for thousands more households in the town.
The amount of radon gas found was 250 times the recommended safe limit, and a woman living in the house died from lung cancer.
The woman’s husband also suffered from the disease, even though both himself and his wife were non-smokers.
Kerry Fine Gael TD Jimmy Deenihan has urged Mr Cullen to immediately investigate the problem.
“This should have prompted an immediate and effective response from Minister Cullen, and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII),” Mr Deenihan said.
The RPII did write to more than 2,500 Kerry householders warning them to check their homes for the gas, but the response has been very poor.
“I am calling on Minister Cullen to carry out a special investigation into these alarmingly high levels of radon gas in Castleisland, where upwards of 3,000 people could be at risk,” Mr Deenihan said.
More than 20,000 homes in the nearby town of Tralee could also be in danger, Deenihan believes.
“The Government should make a grant available to all households nationwide where radon gas levels are above the recommended levels,” he said.
“It can cost anything between €3,000 and €10,000 to carry out corrective action. Some households simply cannot afford to employ a contractor to carry out the work.”
Two hundred people die of lung cancer here every year because of exposure to the naturally-occurring radon gas, according to the RPII.
People exposed to very high levels of radon gas often do not know it, because it is odourless, colourless, and tasteless, the RPII said.
Some 91,000 households could be exposed to dangerously high levels of radon gas in 10 counties, including Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow and Wexford.
