Real Life: Killer in the house

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Child safety: to protect their sons, Ronan and Conor, Mary and Eugene Monahan have had their home tested four times. PHOTO: MARY BROWNE



Safe as houses is a phrase you often hear, but it can't be applied to 86,450 Irish homes. That is the number of dwellings that, unknown to their occupants, could contain lethally high levels of radon gas.

Radon is a radioactive gas naturally produced in the ground from the uranium in all rocks. When it surfaces in open air it is harmless, but when it enters enclosed spaces it can be deadly. Inhaled over a sustained period of time, it can lead to lung cancer.

Dr Seamus O'Reilly Cork, says that between 150 and 200 preventable cancer deaths occur in Ireland every year because of unsafe levels of radon gas in buildings.

"There is no effective screening test for lung cancer, so if you discover high radon levels in your home and show no signs of ill health, there is no point in seeking medical attention.

"But if you have symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, weight loss or if you are coughing up blood then you should see your GP immediately.

Vulnerability

"If you have no symptoms at all but you smoke, then you should stop, as studies have found that smokers living in unsafe levels of radon have a far greater risk of developing cancer as a result."

Worryingly, the majority of those whose health is at risk have no idea of their vulnerability. That's according to Radiological Protection Institution of Ireland David Fenton, who says that only five per cent of the 91,000 houses estimated to contain unsafe levels of radon have been identified.

"The difficulty is that radon is easy to ignore," he says. "It has no colour, taste or smell, so our senses are blind to it. You could be living with high levels of radon, but as it doesn't give you a rash, watery eyes or any tell-tale signs, you wouldn't know."

Stanley Watras, who worked as a construction engineer at a nuclear power plant in the US Pennsylvania back in the 1980s, had no idea of the amount of radon he was being exposed to at home.

Back then, it was thought that radon was only a problem in mines. But tests to find out why Stanley was setting off radiation alarms at work revealed that he lived in a house with such high levels of the gas that the traces on his clothes, body and hair set the alarm bells ringing.

However one of the highest domestic radon levels recorded in Europe was measured at a family home in Castleisland, Co Kerry in July 2003. A reading of 49,000 becquerels (bq) of radioactivity were recorded there -- 245 times the recommended safe level limit for homes of 200 bq.

The occupants had been exposed to the equivalent of 167 chest X-rays every day. Tragically, the problem wasn't discovered until the two occupants, both non-smokers at the time, died of lung cancer.

Of course problems with radon are not confined to Co Kerry. Two-thirds of the country is high-radon territory according to an RPII survey.

"You can check out the risk level in your area by using the interactive map on the RPII website," says David Fenton.

"But be aware that just because your neighbour gets his house monitored and receives the all-clear doesn't mean yours is safe. The only way to be sure is to place radon monitors in your house for three months, then send them for a reading."

New houses are constructed with a protective barrier to stop radon entering the house through the foundations. But this is no guarantee of safety either.

"In 2005, the RPII tested new houses in Tralee Kilkenny and found that 14pc had unsafe levels," says David.

"This may have occurred because the barrier laid to protect the house from radon gas was damaged during construction. But fewer new homes have radon problems than older ones."

Ger Lally Wexford, says the highest radon level he came across in a workplace was 4,000 bq, 10 times the safe limit, while the highest level he encountered in a home was 9,000 bq.

Costs

"That was in a little girl's bedroom," he recalls. "We did remedial work on the house and reduced that to 50bq. The cost of reducing radon levels in an average-sized house would be between 1,200 and 1,300."

Eugene Monahan Murntown in Wexford, runs All Clear Radon. He and his wife Mary, an oncology nurse, have two boys, Conor (six) and Ronan (three).

"Through her work Mary is well aware of the links between high radon levels and lung cancer. In my business, I've encountered houses with readings of 10,000 bq and workplaces with levels of 2,000 bq, which caused great surprise and worry to the occupants.

"To protect our sons, we've tested our house four times over the past 10 years.

"The readings have remained largely the same, but for the boys' sake, we wouldn't take a chance."

Parents may be concerned about radon levels in schools, but Eugene Monahan says they needn't worry as every classroom in Ireland has been tested.

"Those found to have unsafe levels have been made safe," he says.

But while many teachers and parents baulked at sending their children to schools in which radon levels were found to be unsafe, they appear to have no qualms about letting them live in homes that hadn't been tested for radon.

"A surprising number who kicked up about the schools refused to pay the 60 or so to rent a test kit to ensure their own children were safe at home," he says.

As soon as Maria Turley Co Galway, read about the potential danger of radon gas she got a test kit for her home, primarily for the health of her teenage daughter.

"We were shocked to discover that levels in the bedroom were 1,565 bq, while those in the living room were 1,531 bq," she says.

"Remedial work to rectify the problem involved drilling under the wall cavity at the back of the house and installing two sumps to extract the radon and pump it outside.

"The job was done in four or five hours and cost 1,300."

When the job was done, Maria tested the house again.

"This time the levels were 37 bq in the bedroom and 14 bq in the living room," she says. "We were delighted with the result, and knew our money had been well spent."

www.rpii.ie

www.radon.ie

www.allclearradon.ie

Dr Seamus O'Reilly recommends an article by Frumkin and Samet. See the medical journal 'CA' online @ www.caonline.amcancersoc.org and use the 'advanced search' option to locate Vol 51 (2001) pgs 337-33

- Rita de Brun

Irish Independent

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