Radon

Elohim

softmee wrote: »

If this isnt anything new and "they" know about it for a while, shouldn't every building planning permission depend on "what" is underground and how much of this gas is coming up in particular spots?
For sure there must be bigger and smaller deposits of this radioactive uranium all around and its not even everywhere.
Why they allow people to build over the spots where there is loads of it?

As far as I know new buildings are required to put in that thing below it that stops the radon coming into the building. Not sure they new about it or were aware of the danger when they were building the majority of houses 50 years ago.

Radon is pretty much everywhere, the blank spots on the map I put up are sometimes due to a lack of data. The biggest ever radon dose found was down in Kerry or Cork a few years back. Needless to say the husband and wife died of lung cancer.

lucianot

Si it's a nation wide health risk danger and a lethal one and you have to pay to have it detected?
Anyways I am scared now so I will get the sensors.

Mrs OBumble

Elohim wrote: »

As far as I know new buildings are required to put in that thing below it that stops the radon coming into the building. Not sure they new about it or were aware of the danger when they were building the majority of houses 50 years ago.

Radon is pretty much everywhere, the blank spots on the map I put up are sometimes due to a lack of data. The biggest ever radon dose found was down in Kerry or Cork a few years back. Needless to say the husband and wife died of lung cancer.

Mr justMary tells me that the technology to put a radon barrier in the floor (photo of an example ) has only been used in Ireland for the last 15-20 years. It's now required to get planning to build a house, but wasn't previously.

Before that they knew about it (though presumably not since Ireland was first inhabited!), but couldn't do anything about it.

Besides, it's was only one of many things that kill people.

IMHO anyone who smokes should focus on the most obvious thing they can do to reduce their lung cancer risk, and worry about radon after that.

softmee

So, if it is checked and its too high in particular house, what then? Is there somethimg you can do to reduce it, or you can't live there anymore?

It seems so strange to me that this gas is coming up through the floor! Usually "things" like gas, if they have to go somewhere they find an easier/faster way (sorry for a shortcut ) I mean majority of it should just go through the grounds around. (I would think so, considering what I've learned at physics and chemistry at school!)

"The highest average radon concentrations in the United States are found in Iowa and in the Appalachian Mountain areas in southeastern Pennsylvania.[65] Some of the highest readings ever have been recorded in the Irish town of Mallow, County Cork, prompting local fears regarding lung cancer. Iowa has the highest average radon concentrations in the United States due to significant glaciation that ground the granitic rocks from the Canadian Shield and deposited it as soils making up the rich Iowa farmland.[66] Many cities within the state, such as Iowa City, have passed requirements for radon-resistant construction in new homes. In a few locations, uranium tailings have been used for landfills and were subsequently built on, resulting in possible increased exposure to radon."

-wow, boards are good source of information sometime, I wouldnt know about it probably..

Mrs OBumble

softmee wrote: »

So, if it is checked and its too high in particular house, what then? Is there somethimg you can do to reduce it, or you can't live there anymore?

There are fan systems that can be installed to keep the air moving. I suspect they're not cheap. But neither are cigarettes. Hmm, I wonder if the HSE are going to write out and tell us how many lung cancer deaths each year are due to smoking.

Sorry, but the more I think about the campaign we're seeing at the moment, the more I smell a rat.

Someone trying to get builders some work, perhaps?

Robbo

antoobrien wrote: »

I know one way of solving it & we might be able to make money out of - mine it for nuclear fuel.

John Gormley put an end to that. There'll be nay Uranium mined in this country. Shame really, at $55USD/pound, twould be a nice little earner as an export. I don't know why the Shell2Sea heads weren't all over it.

softmee

JustMary wrote: »

Sorry, but the more I think about the campaign we're seeing at the moment, the more I smell a rat.

Someone trying to get builders some work, perhaps?

I thought the same when I saw payment options on some form you should send to get detectors which I received recently

_Whimsical_

JustMary wrote: »

There are fan systems that can be installed to keep the air moving. I suspect they're not cheap. But neither are cigarettes. Hmm, I wonder if the HSE are going to write out and tell us how many lung cancer deaths each year are due to smoking.
NM
Sorry, but the more I think about the campaign we're seeing at the moment, the more I smell a rat.

Someone trying to get builders some work, perhaps?

Spot on Mary.I'd say that's exactly what is going on...nothing like a little mortal fear to stimulate a flagging economy. Certainly no government agency was concerning themselves with the health of those dwelling in high radon concentration areas during the good times.
scaring us into paying full whack to have the job done will be much more convenient than a grant scheme.
I'm not suggesting radon its not an issue we should be concerned with, but the timing does seem rather strange for this kind of campaign.Its either than our its a govt body trying to justify its existence before the budget with a "but look at all the work we have been snowed under with" move.

JupiterKid

Radon is a major problem in Ireland.

Houses that have levels of radon gas are a health risk to the occupants. Radon gas is odourless, colourless and slightly heavier than air so it tends to concentrate in ground floor rooms of dwellings and buildings. Because there were few resources for testing and little understanding of the radon issue until the past 15 years, the risks in Ireland were largely unknown until recently. But now the emerging picture is that Irish households should be very concerned about radon gas.

Given its geology, Ireland has a high level of radon risk compared to many other European countries. The RPII radon map is a total joke - look at the appalling resolution! Those squares do not give a proper picture of the localised radon risks.

It is known however that Wicklow, Clare, Kerry, Galway, Sligo, Cork and Carlow all have very high levels of radon emissions from the ground.

Radon is a health hazard - get your house tested.

Mrs OBumble

JupiterKid wrote: »

Radon is a health hazard - get your house tested.

Radon is a major PUBLIC health issue.

Frankly, I expect that the government should be co-ordinating this testing, not leaving it up to random (educated, motivated and wealthy) individuals to do it, and pay a relatively high price for it.

And before you argue cost, think of how much health treatment for people with lung cancer costs. That is why the HSE cares.