Ballymoney, Gorey, Wexford - High radon risk areas?

Hi everyone

We are looking at moving to the Ballymoney, outside Gorey in Wexford.

I was reading the paper during the week and it mentioned that the south east of the country has very high areas of radon.

I am not originally from that part of the country and out of curiosity I went to the radon map of Ireland. A quick look the map suggests that parts of the Gorey and North of that area have high levels of Radon. However, the coastal area looks like it has much lower levels from the map.



Does anyone have any knowledge of high Radon problems in the Ballymoney/Gorey area? Or any associated issues?

Thanks.

not of that area but i do know that the map was generated by volunteers measuring radon in their homes so the colour coding may only be for pockets of the square that is represented in red if you understand me .

Ok, so an area that is a high radon area is an area where 10% of houses are estimated to have levels greater than 200Bq cubic metre. Problem is for a given area, that's more that 10% or 20%. It is possible to put radon barriers down - but from what I've read they don't always work.

You can get it measured....but it takes 3 months. If I was concerned I'd get it measured at a nearby house - if you know someone that is. But the down sides of that, it's a measure of their house and not the house you're going to be purchasing. - barrier differences, localised differences. But it would at least give you a reference point.

Thanks for the replies.

It's a difficult situation to judge. My sister was watching a 60 minutes program recently which stated that Radon was the second biggest cause of cancer (lung?) after smoking.

Does anyone have any local knowledge of the Ballymoney/Gorey area in relation to Radon?

How seriously, in practical terms, should we take this issue when deciding where to live? We are now thinking about looking to live somewhere else if Radon is a big issue.

Pixied said:

How seriously, in practical terms, should we take this issue when deciding where to live? We are now thinking about looking to live somewhere else if Radon is a big issue.

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It depends on the house. Modern houses must have radon a barrier and sump/pipes added during construction. If the level is still found to be high, the preinstalled sump and pipes are then connected up to an extractor fan(s) to vent the gas.

Towger said:

It depends on the house. Modern houses must have radon a barrier and sump/pipes added during construction. If the level is still found to be high, the preinstalled sump and pipes are then connected up to an extractor fan(s) to vent the gas.

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A lot of those have been damaged in the construction of the house - the seemingly were only a plastic sheeting type thing. If your radon is high you will most likely have to get the sump to vent as above.

It even differs from room to room. We built on a granny flat and one of the rooms there was higher than the rest but it was fine as it was still under the required level. Would there be any point in asking the people who's property you may purchase. Maybe they would have already done a test for it themselves. I know my worry would be about electric current giving off radiation. I posted it before on one of the forums and they thought I was probably for the birds, maybe I am ! but I had read a lot about it.