200 die each year of lung cancer caused by radon gas: report

AN estimated 200 people in Ireland are dying each year from lung cancer caused by high levels of radon gas, well above a global average.

A family home in Galway, it emerged yesterday, is enduring radioactive levels equivalent to receiving nearly 12 chest x-rays per day — more than 4,000 a year.

Of the 170,000 deaths worldwide from lung cancer, between 6% and 15% are caused by exposure to the gas, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).