High radon levels in Tralee houses
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 20:04
Two houses in Tralee, Co Kerry, have been found to have among the highest levels radon ever to be identified in Europe.
The two houses have the third and fourth highest measurements of the of cancer-causing gas in Europe.
Tralee and Castleisland have 15 of the 20 highest recorded measurements in Ireland.
The Radiological Protection Institute says the latest finds were 70 times higher than what is acceptable - resulting in the residents being exposed to the equivalent of nearly 47 chest X-rays per day.
It has urged people in high-risk areas to get their homes tested immediately. Only 5% of those believed to be at risk have been tested.
Radon is a colourless, odourless, tasteless gas which is generated naturally from the decay of uranium in rocks and soil.
Yet radon is also the second highest cause of lung cancer because it can build-up in a basement and then seep into a house.
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