|
|
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.
It was with the deepest regret that we learned of the death, yesterday Wednesday 23rd June 2021, of Mr Patrick J. (Paddy) Barry, Castle Park, Thurles, Co. Tipperary and formerly of Midleton, Co.Cork.
Mr Barry passed away peacefully, while under the care of staff at Padre Pio Nursing Home, Holycross, Thurles.
Pre-deceased by his wife Eileen (née O’Brien), his sisters Mary (Gilmore, Wellington, New Zealand), Sister Finbarr (Convent of Mercy, Waterford) and Anna (Nan Jeffrey, Ahanesk, Cork), daughter-in-law Maretta and baby grandson Francis; the passing of Mr Barry will be sadly missed by his daughters Carmel (Dennehy), Mary (Vaughan), Teresa (McKeown) and Ciara (Durack), sons Joe, Tom and Pádraig, his cherished grandchildren Louisa, Brian, Gerada, Anita, Joseph, James, Sinéad, Caroline, Ruth, David, Ian, Niamh, Aoife, Niall, Brian, Shauna, Aisling and Sarah, 12 great-grandchildren, sons-in-law Joe, Johnny, Joe and Jerome, daughters-in-law Fiona and Susan, nieces, nephews, extended relatives, neighbours and friends.
Requiescat in Pace.
Funeral Arrangements.
The earthly remains of Mr Barry will repose for Requiem Mass at 11:00am in the Cathedral of the Assumption, Cathedral Street, Thurles, on Saturday morning, June 26th, 2021, attended by family members only.
[NB: Due to Public Health Guidelines, regarding C-19 virus restrictions; those attending (limited to 50 mourners), will continue to observe strict adherence to social distancing and face covering.]
For the many persons who would have liked to have attended the funeral service for Mr Barry, but are unable to do so, due to current coronavirus pandemic restrictions; same can be viewed online HERE.
The extended Barry family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Fiserv plans to expand their research and development in Nenagh Co. Tipperary.
The payments and financial services technology provider Fiserv, situated at Stereame, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, E45 WF84 is to add 200 jobs over the next three years, as the company continues to expands its research and development operations here in the county.
The company, which acquires SpendLabs to enhance digital payments for small and medium-sized businesses, is recruiting for roles in application and web development, cloud infrastructure, data science and architecture, as it responds to a growing demand for digital solutions among its present clients and consumers.
The Nenagh Technology Centre first opened in 2017 and has since been developing new services that facilitate the movement of money and information.
An Tánaiste Mr Leo Varadkar has welcomed the news, stating, “This is really great news for Nenagh and the mid-west region,” he said. “These 200 new jobs are a welcome boost and one which the Government is very happy to support. Tipperary has the talent and skills to bring Fiserv to the next level and I wish the team the very best of luck with this expansion.”
This expansion in Nenagh is being supported by the Government through IDA Ireland.
The last weeks of June 2021 mark the end of a second unprecedented and challenging school year for primary school pupils.
In a special message (See Text below) for our nation’s primary school pupils, Irish President Michael D. Higgins commends them on “the cheerful and responsible way” in which they have responded to “the sacrifices asked of you throughout this challenging time.”
He acknowledges that it has been difficult for pupils who have lost out special occasions and events such as First Communions, Confirmations, Christmas concerts and sports events, but he also highlights that during these tough times our primary pupils have learnt many positive lessons, including “the importance of people pulling together, of taking care of their friends and of all the people with whom they share a community”.
Before wishing pupils a well-earned summer break, President Higgins concludes his message of resilience and praise for primary school pupils by stating, quite rightly, that “the adults who have benefitted so much from your selfless actions, will always remember, be grateful for and very proud of a generation of children who are so generous and so willing to change their behaviour for the benefit of others”.
Message from President M.D. Higgins For All Primary School Students.
Is mian liom gach beannacht a ghuí oraibh, a dhaltaí bunscoile, agus sibh ag teacht chun deireadh na bliana scoile, agus ag tabhairt aghaidh anois ar na laethanta saoire fhada atá romhaibh.
May I send my very best wishes to all our primary school children as you enter the final weeks of this school year.
It has I am aware been a difficult, and in some ways strange, year for all of you. At school, you have been asked to follow new rules and restrictions in order to keep your fellow pupils, teachers and their families safe. At home, too, you have had to find different ways to keep in touch with your friends and to pursue your hobbies and interests as you played your important part in preventing, as much as possible, the spread of Covid 19.
Following your Christmas break you were all asked to once again learn at home for some time, and for those of you who could, to work online with your teachers and your classmates, until it was safe for you to return to your schools.
You have also, of course, been unable to enjoy many of the events that are normally such an important part of the school year for many of you, including religious ceremonies such as First Holy Communion and Confirmation ceremonies, Christmas plays and concerts, sports days, tours and outings.
May I say, as President of Ireland, how very impressed I have been at the cheerful and responsible way in which you have responded to the sacrifices asked of you throughout this challenging time. You have constantly placed the health and safety of others above your own wishes and needs, and that is something of which you, along with your teachers and parents, can be very proud indeed.
Although this has been a difficult year it has also, I hope, been a year during which you learnt much about the importance of people pulling together, of taking care of their friends and of all the people with whom they share a community. That is a greatly important lesson, and one that I hope you will carry with you for the rest of your lives. As the school year draws to its close, I assure you it is one that we, the adults who have benefitted so much from your selfless actions, will always remember, grateful for and very proud of a generation of children who are so generous and so willing to change their behaviour for the benefit of others.
For some of you, this is the end of your primary school journey and you are no doubt looking forward to commencing secondary school in September. I wish you every happiness and success as you start that new chapter in your lives.
For those of you who will be returning to your primary schools in the autumn, I greatly hope it will be a year during which you will be able to resume all of the activities which make your school lives so pleasurable.
To all of you I send my deepest gratitude and my best wishes for a very happy and enjoyable summer holiday.
Bain gach sult as an samhradh. Make the most of these long summer days and enjoy yourselves. as you spend time with your families and friends.
Signed: President Michael D. Higgins
Pictured hereunder is the first published picture of the newly landscaped Thurles river walk stretching, sandwiched and running parallel between the west bank of the river Suir and the new proposed Lidl Supermarket Site.
Yes, it is nicely landscaped, with grass seed sown on both sides of a narrow, winding, tarmac pathway; reminiscent of the yellow brick road taken by Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion in the musical fantasy film ‘The Wizard of Aus’.
From what we can see, a few, fast growing, short lived Alder trees have also been planted; each dotted here and there along this 150 metre stretch of the river bank.
Wire plastic coated fencing attached to wooden stakes, divides the Supermarket chain’s intended new premises from the public right-of-way river walkway.
“Beware, beware the hawthorn
Lest it strike you down
For if you take an axe to it
You’ll rue that you were born”
(Giles Watson)
All of the above, to my mind, ineffective changes come at the cost of one pair of Song Thrushes being made homeless; their nesting site and eggs destroyed.
Flowering Queen Anne’s Lace, Plaintain (Slánus), Bindweed, Cow Parsley, Hogweed, are just a few of the species all once sheltering beneath a 130 metre stretch of healthy Hawthorn trees (May Tree) were also annihilated to be replaced by sod all.
Alas, these Hawthorn trees were not obviously inhabited or protected by fairy folk, worse luck, as legend suggests, so gone for good are 130 metres of native spiny branches, whose flowers will no longer spread their heavenly sweet scent, on late May and June evenings.
Gone are 130 metres where normally honeybees, bumblebees and a great variety of insect species, flitted urgently, immersed in their intricate work of gathering nectar and pollen, thus making it an important part of our ecosystem, and at a time when land-based insects are rapidly disappearing.
The European Commission has clearly stated that there has been an alarming decline in pollinator species, with 10% of bees and butterflies nearing extinction. The loss of wild pollinators remains a cause for grave concern, because around 80% of crops depend, in part at least, on their ability to pollinate.
Here in Ireland, a third of our wild bee population is facing the threat of extinction; that’s according to the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford.
Gone are 130 metres of Hawthorn hedging, which each year offered a mass of red berries to birds, as their autumn and winter feed.
One law for the general public, another law for developers.
Under the terms of the Irish Wildlife Act, hedge-cutting is only permitted between September 1st and February 28th. This law aims to protect and maintain wildlife diversity by establishing areas where, in particular, birdlife can thrive during the nesting season. The law also prohibits the cutting, burning, grubbing or deliberate destruction of vegetation.
- So who gave the developers of the Lidl site, in Thurles, permission to destroy biodiversity in this area?
- Will they be sought out and prosecuted?
- Will they be forced to replace the Hawthorn trees they ripped up?
Most likely not; but remember “What we do to the environment we ultimately do to ourselves as humans”.
|
Support Us Help keep Thurles.info online by donating below. Thank you.
Total Donated 2026: €300.00
Thank You!
Daily Thurles Mass Livestream
|
Recent Comments