Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Mar 1999

Vol. 502 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Radon Gas Levels.

Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment tonight.

In light of a front page article in The Examiner today which reported an unacceptable level of radon gas occurring in a Kerry household, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government must move quickly to give assurances to people that they will be assisted in eliminating this highly dangerous gas from their homes.

I understand that the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland discovered in a recent survey that occupants in a Kerry household were being exposed to 1,924 becquerels of radon gas per cubic metre. A reading of anything over 200 becquerels is considered to be a risk and, in this particular case, the risk was equivalent to more than double the maximum permissible in the nuclear industry.

Radon gas is a naturally occurring substance which is generally found in abundance in areas where the table rock consists of granite, and Kerry is among the areas in Ireland where radon gas levels are unacceptably high. Radon gas is responsible for more than 10 per cent of lung cancer deaths each year in Ireland. Approximately 200 deaths occur each year as a result of radon gas. It is up to the Government of the day to ensure that people are assisted in carrying out remedial work on their homes to eliminate this gas. As the Minister of State is no doubt aware, under the last Administration a grant scheme was put in place to allow householders to draw down a grant to fund 50 per cent of the work required to eliminate radon gas. This grant was administered up to a maximum of £800 per house.

While in itself the grant was relatively minimal, it did give people some assistance in ridding their homes of this dangerous gas. When this grant scheme was introduced by my colleague, Deputy Stagg, it was supposed to last for ten years and funding was secured from the Department of Finance to this effect. The pathetic excuse by this Government that overall budgetary constraints have not made it possible to provide for the scheme this year is nothing short of a disgrace, given promises in the House that the grant would be reintroduced in the recent budget.

In this buoyant and thriving economy, I believe that the Government is in a position to administer this grant and has a responsibility to do so. The Government has been quick to remind house builders of their new responsibilities regarding radon gas protection, and rightly so. However, before lectures are delivered to the building industry this Government should look at its own despicable record on this issue.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland estimates that one in ten of all homes are likely to have radon gas levels exceeding what is considered safe. Given this serious problem, it is appalling that this Government has scrapped this important scheme to counter the health threat caused by radon gas.

In light of the media coverage of the frightening levels of radon gas found in Kerry and other areas of the country, I believe that this Government has a responsibility to act immediately. Tonight I will not accept no for an answer. People do not choose to inhale radon gas, and they do not deserve to suffer the appalling and agonising pain caused by lung cancer.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise (Mr. Jacob)

I thank Deputy Moynihan-Cronin for raising this important matter. I am aware of the findings of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland in relation to the levels of radon gas found in various parts of the country which have been surveyed by the institute to date. The radon reading in County Kerry referred to by the Deputy was detected in the course of the national radon survey undertaken by the RPII. The results for Kerry were published last July and of the 932 houses in County Kerry that participated in the survey, 52 were found to be above the national reference level for radon concentrations of 200 becquerels per cubic metre. One house was detected as having a reading of 1924 becquerels per cubic metre. This single reading is unusually high as the average reading for Kerry is 70 becquerels per cubic metre.

This type of reading is not representative of trends across the country. However, high readings have been detected in other counties. Anomalies can occur for a number of reasons, including geological features such as the house being situated on or near known granite deposits. The interaction between air pressure in the house and pressure from the ground beneath the house can also play a major role in the amount of indoor radon present. These factors can vary from house to house and indeed neighbouring houses can have substantially different radon readings.

Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas which has been present in many countries in Europe and elsewhere for a very long time. It is only relatively recently that there has been a growing awareness of the potential health effects of long-term exposure to high levels of radon. The Government is aware of research which shows that long-term exposure to radon can cause lung cancer.

There is also growing evidence that for people who smoke, the health risk from radon is considerably greater. The Government has taken a number of measures to create an awareness of radon and to address the problem of high radon levels in dwellings and schools.

In 1990, the Government adopted an annual average radon concentration of 200 Bq/mf7>3 as the national reference level. This means that above this level remediation measures to reduce the indoor radon concentration level in a dwelling should be considered.

A national radon survey by the RPII was initiated in 1992. This survey is aimed at identifying areas at greatest risk of high indoor radon levels and will allow the classification of the whole country on the basis of the predicted percentage of dwellings in each area which are above the reference level. Areas in which this prediction is greater than 10 per cent will be designated as high radon areas. The survey has been completed in respect of 24 counties and the results have been published by the RPII. The results for the remaining two counties, Galway and Mayo, are due to be published in April. Where readings above the reference level have been found householders have been advised by the RPII to consider taking remedial action.

While the Government is not in a position to provide direct financial assistance to householders for radon remediation works, every effort is being made by Government to tackle the problem of high radon concentrations in dwellings. Recent radon preventative measures were introduced by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government and local authorities in the form of technical guidance documents relating to the consolidated national buildings regulations, 1997. The guidance documents call for radon protection measures to be taken in the construction of all new houses from 1 July 1998. More elabor ate radon protection is specified for new houses situated in high radon areas.

A booklet entitled "Radon in Buildings" is available from the Department of the Environment and Local Government which provides advice to householders and builders on preventative and remedial measures which can be undertaken in new and existing buildings to reduce high radon concentrations.

At the request of the Minister for Education and Science the RPII has recently commenced a comprehensive survey of ground floor radon levels in all primary and secondary schools to ensure any problems with radon gas are identified. This survey, which commenced in September, will be carried out over the next three school years. The Minister for Education and Science will also assist schools in carrying out remediation measures which may be necessary as a result of the RPII survey. In addition to these Government initiatives, the RPII has a radon freephone for queries about radon and the RPII offer a three month radon measurement test to householders at a cost of £15.

Further radon protection measures are to be introduced next year under the terms of a new EU directive on basic safety standards for the protection of workers and the general public from the dangers of ionising radiation. The directive will require the introduction of radiation protection measures to monitor, control and reduce exposures to natural sources of radiation, including radon in the workplace. My Department will issue a public consultation document later this month on how it is proposed to implement this directive.

The measures I have outlined above indicate the Government is conscious of the importance of this issue. Furthermore, the RPII, the agency with direct responsibility for monitoring of radon levels throughout the country, is completing its survey of the problem and maintaining an appropriate campaign to inform the public of the risks. I will continue to take an active role in encouraging the RPII to continue its work of maximising public awareness.