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Child Item

Radon

biko

Did everyone get the letter today?
A third of tested homes last year were above good levels.
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/31201

Apparently you can buy detectors and send them in to be checked.
The RPII will host two public information events:
Date: Wednesday 12th October
Venue: 2.00pm in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lough Atalia, Galway
and at 7.30pm in the Ard Rí House Hotel, Milltown Road, Tuam.

The events are free and everyone is welcome to attend.

More info here

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[Deleted User]

Got one yesterday and again today.

the keen edge

Yeah, inform people about potential deadly gas via letter delivered today at 2pm.
Host information event about potential deadly gas today at 2pm.

Brilliant.

topcat77

Think it's a bit of a scam!!! i remember looking for a test last year and i think it was priced €45 (was the same test as the letter discribes). Now they send a scare letter and ask €56. Points of note. if you live on a hill your ok! Radon is heavier that air so it sinks. If you live at the bottom of hill in a hollow i think i'd get a check.

beardybrewer

It would be nice to get a list of areas known to be safe/low danger. I would imagine they know exactly where the problem areas are but didn't tell us.

seanin4711

ring any bells anyone?

Doctor_Socks

If you live in an old house or in a council estate it may be worth your while looking into getting a test done. An estate in Athenry had high levels of radon and as a result over 6 people contracted Leukemia within a few years of one another, not sure why they all happened so close together considering the estate is about 30-40 years old but either way it was horrible. Very good friend of mine contracted it when he was 16! :eek: Was scary to see a good friend go through chemo at such a young age

None of the houses in the estate above had Radon barriers which weren't very prevalent in building back in the day so thats the reason i'd look into it.

Also, while altitude can play a small factor it doesn't play into it much, if you're living in an area with a large amount of limestone or granite underground it can mean that levels can be slightly high regardless of your altitude.

wallpaper12

An average of 200 people die due to radon every year. Im sure thats more than enough reason to get your house tested

Webbs

Doctor_Socks wrote: »

If you live in an old house or in a council estate it may be worth your while looking into getting a test done. An estate in Athenry had high levels of radon and as a result over 6 people contracted Leukemia within a few years of one another, not sure why they all happened so close together considering the estate is about 30-40 years old but either way it was horrible. Very good friend of mine contracted it when he was 16! :eek: Was scary to see a good friend go through chemo at such a young age

None of the houses in the estate above had Radon barriers which weren't very prevalent in building back in the day so thats the reason i'd look into it.

Also, while altitude can play a small factor it doesn't play into it much, if you're living in an area with a large amount of limestone or granite underground it can mean that levels can be slightly high regardless of your altitude.

Please dont put up irresponsible information like this unless you can produce evidence to back it up. Radon is linked to lung cancer as it is a gas that is breathed in http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/radon. They state ''Long-term exposure to radon can lead to lung cancer, the only cancer proven to be associated with inhaling radon.''

softmee

"The radiation dose to the occupants of the home with the highest levels were equivalent to receiving approximately six chest x-rays per day"

-what?! :eek: where does it come from!?

Ok, I know know.. "It comes from the radioactive decay of uranium in our rocks and soils."

-never heared about this problem before..

Arnold Layne

wallpaper12 wrote: »

An average of 200 people die due to radon every year. Im sure thats more than enough reason to get your house tested

200 people per how much of the population affected?

Numbers mean nothing; actual data is what counts, including a proper statisical analysis.

wallpaper12

Arnold Layne wrote: »

200 people per how much of the population affected?

Numbers mean nothing; actual data is what counts, including a proper statisical analysis.

What do you mean per how much of the population affected?? All the population is affected, some more than others of course but if people refuse to pay for radon testing then we cant accuratley determine who is getting what dose.

_Whimsical_

Forget whether its a scam because the test is expensive or whether radon is dangerous, it is. The real problem with getting the test done is the fact that you're then left sitting on a time bomb and it costs quite a bit,a few thousand, to fix it and there's no grant available to help you with financing it.

If anyone goes to the meeting please report back on what is available in terms of fixing the problem and what the likely cost is.

inisboffin

That'd be a great excuse for them to do pre-fracking testing. Sorry sir, just drilling for Radon samples!

Seriously though, if the govt claim we don't own the gases/minerals under/in our own land/houses, then surely they must be responsible for clearing/paying for removal of any health hazard that is 'not ours' too, no?

Elohim

How have ye never heard of this before? The vast majority of our annual radiation dose comes from radon, not much ya can do about it.

Salthill has one of the highest, on average, radon levels in the country.
Not much ya can do about it though except opening windows regularly or retrofitting your house with some stuff underneath the house or something.

I just leave the windows open, it does the job perfectly.

Elohim

For those of you who are interested here's a map of radon exposure for the country. As you can see, Galway is quite fooked.

http://www.rpii.ie/radon-map.aspx

geekychick

Elohim wrote: »

I just leave the windows open, it does the job perfectly.

Yeah, that's what I do too (living in Salthill), I'm almost religious about it, to the point of OCD! The only time I don't have my windows open is the bedroom at night, but I'm starting to reconsider that too...

I will probably get this reading done, for my peace of mind (or otherwise).

My flat is on the second floor, does anyone know if that would have any positive bearing?

Amik

I'm in Newcastle and recently got my test results back (had the detectors set-up for 3 months).

Both rooms had just over 30 Bq/m3 of Radon, but apparently I don't have to be concerned (anything over 200 is a problem).

antoobrien

softmee wrote: »

"It comes from the radioactive decay of uranium in our rocks and soils."

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

beardybrewer

In fairness they have a list of alternate companies which maybe a bit cheaper:

http://www.rpii.ie/getdoc/29f666ae-d318-40a4-bf7f-6c68fa48165e/Other-radon-companies.aspx

inisboffin

antoobrien wrote: »

softmee wrote: »

"It comes from the radioactive decay of uranium in our rocks and soils."

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

We won't make a penny! That was my point earlier. While we may own whats 'on' our land, The 'State' owns all minerals 'in' it!
So any reactor at Leisureland wouldn't get us rich!

_Whimsical_

Elohim wrote: »

How have ye never heard of this before? The vast majority of our annual radiation dose comes from radon, not much ya can do about it.

Salthill has one of the highest, on average, radon levels in the country.
Not much ya can do about it though except opening windows regularly or retrofitting your house with some stuff underneath the house or something.

I just leave the windows open, it does the job perfectly.

How do you mean "does the job perfectly"?

Have you tried testing with windows open and without windows open? Not intending to sound sarky or anything here I'm genuinely interested.

I have read in the past that leaving windows open is a good idea but it's not a "fix" or won't impact much on your reading. Then I also heard someone on tv talking about it a few months ago who said that it's best to leave downstairs windows open rather than upstairs as leaving upstairs windows open can create a vacuum effect resulting in increased radon concentration in the downstairs of your home! No idea at all if that's true. It sounded a bit unlikely to me but thought id pass it on anyway.

Elohim

Once the windows are open it dilutes the concentration of radon in the air to a much lower level than if they are closed, I don't have exact figures.
I've done no testing but I've gone to a bunch of the talks they've had at the university.

Leaving the downstairs windows open is probably better as i presume it will let the radon out as soon as it comes up. But once there needs to be good airflow around the house and it should be fine.

fishy fishy

can I swop my iodine tablet for a free radon check?

I cannot afford 56 Euro for a radon check - I can barely afford 56 cent for a box of radox in aldi.

are they doing this for the "good of our health" or is it just another way of bringing money in.

antoobrien

fishy fishy wrote: »

are they doing this for the "good of our health" or is it just another way of bringing money in.

Something I remember them talking about since at least the mid 90s, so no it's not just another tax.

Elohim

I always presumed they never talked about this in Galway as it might have an affect on house prices.

snubbleste

Elohim wrote: »

I always presumed they never talked about this in Galway as it might have an affect on house prices.

When I was a wee one, I was made aware that Galway was a major radon hotspot. The advice we were given was to air the place out daily and there was nothing we could do about it.

Radon is in the same group of carcinogens as asbestos and tobacco smoke

wallpaper12

Opening windows will be fine presuming your radon level is below 400 bq/m^3 which it really should be anyway or your not in a good position at all. But if your house is over this reading you would have to look into getting a fan assisted sump

Mrs OBumble

Take the double glazing out. Put a crack back under the door, and a couple more in the walls. Rip out the insulation. Problem solved

Seriously ... I put the forms aside to look at properly. Strikes me as "interesting" that the HSE should be writing to us advertising the services of a particularly expensive testing company. Hmm, I wonder what the price would be if they left a bulk contract to do houses a few 000 at a time, like a proper public health measure.

s_carnage

geekychick wrote: »

My flat is on the second floor, does anyone know if that would have any positive bearing?

Anyone know the answer to the above question??

softmee

wallpaper12 wrote: »

Opening windows will be fine presuming your radon level is below 400 bq/m^3 which it really should be anyway or your not in a good position at all. But if your house is over this reading you would have to look into getting a fan assisted sump

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?