What is Radon?
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which is present everywhere. In most cases, it is not a problem. However, when levels are over a certain threshold, the radioactive nature of the gas can cause health problems. Most notable is lung cancer with a reported 300+ cases estimated to be related to Radon each year in Ireland.
How do you know if your home has dangerous Radon levels?
Firstly, you want to access the risk. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) have produced a searchable map which shows your risk of a property having high levels of Radon in 3 levels.
Yellow = Low Risk or a 1 in 20 chance.
Orange = Medium Risk or a 1 in 10 chance.
Red = High Risk or a 1 in 5 chance.
However, just because your property is in a High-Risk area should not cause you to panic. Radon exposure can take a long time before it can start to cause problems if it does at all. So your next course of action is to have your property Radon tested.
Radon testing involves placing 2 small detectors on your property and leaving them in place for 3 months. After the 3 months is up, the detectors are sent back to the company you purchased the test from and tested in their labs. These results will tell you conclusively if your property has high levels of Radon.
What if my Radon Tests Show High Levels?
In this case, the recommended course of action would be to have a radon shield installed on your property. There are specialist companies who look after this work.
If you are in this situation, drop us an email at info@homehunterreport.ie and we'll send you our list of recommended companies.
For more information on Radon, its impact and risks, visit the Environmental Protection Agency's website epa.ie