HSE: Radon gas barriers breached at mental health facility

Radon gas barriers were breached in a state-of-the-art mental health facility in Co Kerry which opened in July, the HSE confirmed.

But it did not disclose the levels of the radioactive gas detected during what it said was a standard three-month monitoring of a €13.5m residential facility, Deer Lodge, in Killarney.

The head of mental health in Cork Kerry Community HealthCare, Sinead Glennon informed the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) that while a radon barrier was fitted, the results of the studies “showed a number of areas within the building have radon levels greater than 200 Bq/m3 which is the reference level for radon in residential facilities”.