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EPA survey highlights need for everyone to do a simple radon test in their homes
- Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas and every year in Ireland 300 lung cancer cases are linked to radon exposure.
- EPA commissioned a survey of over 1000 people on their attitudes to radiation.
- 28 per cent of people surveyed were concerned about radiation.
- While 82 per cent of people have heard of radon 66 per cent of them said they are unlikely to test their homes.
- Testing your home and fixing a radon problem can reduce the risk to your health from this radioactive gas.
A survey exploring Irish attitudes towards radiation found that 28% of people are concerned about radiation. In Ireland, radon accounts for more than half of our radiation exposure. However, while awareness of radon gas is high, two out of three people said that they are unlikely to test their home, believing their homes to be unaffected by radon.
Commenting on the survey, Ms Stephanie Long, (EPA Senior Scientist) said, “Many people don’t know that radon is the largest contributor to radiation dose in Ireland. If there is a high radon level in your home, it is exposing you and your family to unnecessary radiation. While radon levels in certain parts of the country are higher than, others the gas can be found in homes of all types and ages throughout the country. Yet, despite the risks there continues to be a reluctance amongst householders to protect their health by testing their homes for radon.”
Reducing radon levels in homes and other buildings is simple and inexpensive and immediately reduces the risk of developing lung cancer. For moderate levels of radon, improving indoor ventilation may reduce the level by up to half. For higher levels, a fan assisted sump can be installed which can reduce radon levels by over 90%. The sump can be installed in one day by a contractor with little disruption to the home.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Clare Kambamettu is a homeowner who found high levels of radon in her home, which she acted on and remediated. Dr. Kambamettu had a radon sump installed in her Galway home which addressed the high radon levels.
Dr. Kambamettu commented: “We were worried when our test showed high levels of radon in our home. We soon found out that the solution was surprisingly easy. Most of the work was done quickly from the outside of our home with very little disruption. And the best part was that once the work was done, the risk was gone too, as our radon levels were reduced so much.”
For more information on radon and to find a list of registered radon testing and remediation services, visit www.radon.ie, or freefone 1 800 300 600.
  
Ireland will not meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
Action is needed now to meet 2030 EU targets.
- Ireland will not meet 2013-2020 EU targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
- Ireland can meet our current EU commitments over the 2021 to 2030 period, if all current plans and policies are fully implemented.
- Projections indicate that under the best case scenario, with all the measures set out in the 2019 Climate Action Plan fully implemented, Irelands 2030 emissions will be 24 per cent lower than 2018 levels.
- In order to achieve a 51 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 significant new measures will need to be identified and implemented across all sectors.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its Greenhouse Gas emissions projections for the period 2020-2040, which will form part of the discussions at the EPA Climate Conference taking place tomorrow.
They show Ireland is projected to have exceeded its 2013-2020 EU Effort Sharing Decision target by 12.2 Mt CO2 eq, but that it can meet its current EU 2021-2030 target with full implementation of the measures in the 2019 Climate Action Plan. This would result in a 2% per annum emissions reduction pathway from 2021 to 2030.
Commenting on the figures Ms Laura Burke, (Director General, EPA) said:
“These projections show that the next decade needs to be one of major developments and advances in relation to Ireland’s response to climate change. Full implementation of all current policies and plans by all sectors would reduce Irelands greenhouse gas emissions by 2 per cent per year, which is the minimum needed to meet our current 2030 EU targets.”
Ms Burke added:
“However, for Ireland to meet the more ambitious targets as presented in the European Climate Law and Ireland’s Climate Bill, and to transform to a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by 2050, there needs to be a significant and immediate increase in the scale and pace of greenhouse gas emission reductions. A ‘green recovery’ will give Ireland an opportunity to rebuild our economy and generate new jobs while responding to this challenge.”
The projections show the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on emissions for 2020 and 2021 as a result of a dramatic decline in economic activity and travel in the short term. To avoid a surge in emissions as the economy recovers, as a minimum the full range of actions already committed to must be implemented without delay. These measures are projected to contribute to emissions savings of 58 Mt CO2 eq. by 2030 when compared to existing measures. These include:
Agriculture
A reduction of at least 16.5 Mt CO2 eq. between 2021 and 2030 is achievable by accelerated uptake of measures such as low emissions slurry spreading techniques and switching to stabilised urea fertilisers for crops and pasture.
Transport
Almost 1 million electric vehicles on our roads by 2030, including 840,000 passenger EVs and 95,000 electric vans and trucks, will help achieve a projected additional emission saving from the sector of 13.2 Mt CO2 eq over the period 2021 to 2030.
Energy
Renewable energy providing 70% of electricity generated is projected to lead to a 25% reduction in Energy Industries emissions by 2030 requiring both on- and off-shore wind energy projects.
Home Heating
The installation of 600,000 heat pumps and the retrofitting of 500,000 homes for improved energy efficiency by 2030 is projected to reduce the energy used for space and water heating in our homes by 44% by 2030. This will make our homes healthier and more comfortable places to live.
Commenting, Mr Stephen Treacy, (Senior Manager, EPA) said:
“Ireland needs to improve on its past record of performance in the implementation of climate policies and measures. As far back as 2015 EPA projections indicated that 2020 EU targets could be met with the implementation of identified measures. Faster than anticipated emissions growth from key sectors and slow implementation of measures resulted in the target being missed by a wide margin.”
See full detail on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections 2020 to 2040 on the EPA website HERE.
See EPA Greenhouse Gas web resource HERE.
The Department of Health this evening has confirmed there have been some 393 new additional Covid-19 virus cases reported. (Same case numbers are subject to future data validation, because of the Russian Cyber attack on the HSE’s notifying system.)
There are 46 people with Covid-19 remaining in hospital today in the Republic of Ireland and of that number 14 are in ICU’s.
The Taoiseach has said Ireland is almost on target to introduce the EU Digital Covid Certificate from July 19th next.
The new European system, which comes into operation for a number of countries from July 1st, is designed to enable people to travel across the European-wide bloc.
Meanwhile, a Tipperary neighbouring county primary school is dealing with a suspected case of the Delta Covid-19 variant, which has double the risk of hospitalisation after infection, compared to the original strain of Covid. Parents at a school in Co. Offaly have been contacted informing them that all students who use a bus service, regardless of the class year they are attending, each must now consider themselves as a close contact.
While currently cases of the Delta variant remain low here in Ireland, HSE’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Colm Henry warns that it is a race against time to insure that a critical portion of our population get vaccinated before the variant takes hold.
Reports coming from our capital city Dublin today, state that young people who are not yet vaccinated are behaving as if the pandemic has fully come to an end. City streets are reported packed with individuals consuming cheap supermarket alcohol, while failing to socially distance and wear face coverings; each behaving in a party like atmosphere not just at night, but also during the day.
One must ask, “Do parents actually care about the health of their young people?
We have no doubt that we will see figures rise in the coming days and weeks.
The total known worldwide number of virus cases identified up to 4.30pm this evening, now stands at well almost 178.00 million confirmed cases, with global deaths at well over 3.85 million.
We had stopped reporting on daily Covid-19 cases here on Thurles.Info in the belief that we were over the worst and with our Tipperary economy beginning to reopen once again.
However, figures released yesterday by the Department of Public Health Mid-West shows that there was a rise in north Tipperary cases from 5 cases on Thursday last, to 11 cases on the following day, Friday.
Meanwhile, Tipperary’s neighbouring counties of Limerick and Clare also saw large increases.
In Co. Limerick Covid-19 cases increased to 78 on Friday, latter a rise of 34 over the preceding 24 hours, while 11 new cases were confirmed in Co. Clare over the same 24 hour period, bringing the total number of cases in this region to over 1,600 in the past month, including 950 new cases confirmed in the previous 14 days.
The above information comes on the back of news that the vaccination centre, based at Limerick Racecourse, Greenmount Park, Main St, Patrickswell, Co. Limerick, will close on four dates in June and July, to facilitate race meetings.
The above figures comes also as concerns continue to be raised regarding the Delta variant and how it may affect Ireland’s reopening plans.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Simon Coveney has warned that tighter travel restrictions between Ireland and the UK, may be required to halt the spread of the Delta variant here in the Irish Republic.
Please do continue to wear face coverings and to socially distance. The latter has proven to have significantly limited the spread of COVID-19.
The Department of Health this evening has confirmed there have been 259 new additional virus cases reported. (Same case numbers are subject to future data validation, because of the Russian Cyber attack on the HSE’s notifying system.)
There are 76 people with Covid-19 remaining in hospital today in the Republic of Ireland and of that number 27 are in ICU’s.
In Northern Ireland, their Department of Health has confirmed 105 new cases of the disease today.
Tipperary’s neighbouring county Limerick, holds the highest 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people, standing at 449, compared to our national average of just 118. Co. Limerick was followed by Co. Donegal on 177.1 and Co. Dublin with a rate of 139.5.
The total worldwide number of virus cases identified up to 6.00pm this evening, now stands at well over 174.10 million confirmed cases, with global deaths at almost 3.75 million.
Please do continue to behave responsibly in order to protect each other.
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