Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of persons believed to have died here in each of the past five years as a result of exposure to radon gas; the steps he intends to take to protect persons from exposure to potentially lethal gas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16361/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Epidemiological studies have shown that naturally occurring radon gas concentrations add to the incidence of lung cancer. While there is evidence to suggest that long-term exposure to high levels of radon can be a contributory factor in increasing the risk of lung cancer and that the incidence is higher among smokers than non-smokers, it is not possible to ascribe any one cancer death solely to radon. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, RPII, estimates that approximately 10% to 15% of all lung cancer deaths in Ireland, equivalent to 150 to 200 deaths, are linked to radon gas exposure and that the incidence is higher among smokers than non-smokers.

A recent report was published in the British Medical Journal of a study concerning radon and lung cancer which was funded by Cancer Research UK and the European Commission. This report was the result of a collaborative analysis of individual data from 13 case-control studies of residential radon and lung cancer in nine European countries, which did not include Ireland. The report concluded that radon in the home accounts for about 9% of deaths from lung cancer and about 2% of all deaths from cancer in Europe. It also concluded that the absolute risk to smokers and recent ex-smokers was 25 times greater than to lifelong non-smokers.

The Government, through the RPII, has over the years committed significant resources to assessing the extent of the radon problem throughout the country and to increasing public awareness of radon.

During the years 1992 to 1999, the RPII carried out a national survey of radon in domestic dwellings aimed at assessing the extent of the radon problem in homes. The RPII's website contains a comprehensive map of the high radon areas in Ireland as well as the report of its national survey of radon in homes.

In February 2002, my Department published a booklet entitled Radon in Existing Buildings — Corrective Options advising designers, builders and home owners on remediation options for reducing radon in existing houses to, or below, the national reference level.

Upgraded building regulations, introduced in June 1997, require all new houses which commenced construction on or after 1 July 1998 to incorporate radon protection measures. My Department has recently published an updated edition of the Technical Guidance Document C, TGD-C, on Part C of the Building Regulations, site preparation and resistance to moisture, incorporating enhanced radon prevention measures for new buildings commencing on or after 1 April 2005. This new guidance document is aimed at ensuring that the 1997 radon protection measures are carried out more effectively.

In recent months, the RPII has undertaken several initiatives to further heighten awareness of the radon issue in Ireland. In November 2004, the RPII hosted the third National Radon Forum in Dublin to raise awareness of radon as a health risk. Earlier this year, the RPII published a revised version of its booklet Radon in Homes and also published a booklet in October 2004, Understanding Radon Remediation, a Householders Guide. The RPII also plans to distribute an information poster on radon for display in libraries, medical centres, and other public areas advising people to have their homes checked for radon. The RPII has also just begun a new radon awareness campaign involving a series of nationwide information seminars, targeted at selected high radon areas, on the dangers of radon Both the RPII and my Department will continue to use all appropriate opportunities to raise public awareness of radon, to urge householders, particularly those in high radon areas, to have their homes tested for radon and to encourage householders with radon concentrations above the national reference level to undertake the appropriate remediation works.