House radon level ‘is like getting 18 X-rays a day’

A Kerry home tested for exposure to cancer-causing radon gas found its occupants were receiving the equivalent radiation dose of approximately 18 chest X-rays per day or 6,500 per year.

The Tralee household, which had 26 times the acceptable level of radon, was among the one in seven homes identified with high levels of radon out of more than 3,000 tested in the past year, according to figures from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII).

However, the RPII estimates there are 91,000 homes with high levels of radon, of which less than 8,000 have been identified. On this basis, the institute is urging householders to get their homes tested.