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Environment and Health
127
an EPA-funded research project on
indoor air pollution and health in
Ireland and Scotland indicate that
indoor tobacco smoke posed by
far the greatest health risk to the
exposed population.
The Scientific Committee on Health
and Environmental Risks examined
indoor air quality at the request of
the European Commission (SCHER,
2007). They concluded that the
principles used in the EU for risk
assessment of chemicals should
also be applied to indoor air. They
also found that more research and
data are needed. In 2010 the WHO,
recognising the importance of this
issue, published guidelines to reduce
the health risks from indoor exposure
to air pollutants (WHO, 2010). These
guidelines could form the basis of
national policy on indoor air quality.
Radon
Radon is a naturally occurring,
radioactive, colourless, odourless
gas derived from uranium in rocks
and in soil. It poses a threat to
human health because when high
concentrations of the gas are
inhaled, it can cause lung cancer.
While levels are too low outdoors
to affect health, radon seeps into
buildings from underground and
can accumulate to reach high
concentrations. It is estimated that
between 150 and 200 deaths from
lung cancer each year in Ireland
are linked to radon, with smokers
a particularly vulnerable group (RPII
and HSE, 2010).
While high radon concentrations can
be found in any part of the country,
the Radiological Protection Institute
of Ireland (RPII) has identified certain
parts of the country, called High
Radon Areas, as being more prone
to radon (RPII, 2002). Approximately
one-third of the country, mainly in
the west and south east, is classified
as a High Radon Area; this is shown
in Figure 9.6. Of the 47,000 homes
measured since the early 1990s by
the RPII, some 5,600 were found
to be above the national Reference
Level of 200 Bq/m
3
. This is just 6%
of the 91,000 homes predicted to
have high radon concentrations.
The maximum value was 49,000
Bq/m
3
measured in a house near
Castleisland, Co Kerry in 2003. In
2010, 743 homes were identified
as having radon concentrations
above 200 Bq/m
3
. Of these, nine had
extremely high levels of more than
10 times the Reference Level. These
figures represent the highest number
identified by the RPII in any period
since its radon programme began
some 20 years ago.
Reducing the health risk from radon
involves a range of interventions
that address both prevention in
new buildings and identification
and remediation of radon problems
in existing buildings. This requires
input from a range of organisations
responsible for building science and
technology, public health, health
economics and national policy as well
as radiation protection (RPII and HSE,
2010). A National Radon Strategy
Group was established in 2011
by the Minister for Environment,
Community and Local Government
to formulate solutions to the radon
problem in Ireland.
Ozone and Health
Ozone is a gas that is both beneficial
and damaging to human health,
depending on where it exists in the
atmosphere. The ‘ozone layer’ is in
the upper atmosphere (stratosphere),
between 10 and 50 km above ground;
here ozone plays the vital role of
blocking dangerous ultraviolet (UV)
radiation from reaching the earth.
Excessive levels of UV lead to increased
skin cancers and eye cataracts in
humans. At ground level ozone is
actually an air pollutant; it harms lung
function and irritates the respiratory
system in humans and animals and
stunts the growth of many plants. It
also reacts with other pollutants at
ground level to create smog.
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
Scientific measurements over the
past 40 years have shown that
the concentration of ozone in the
stratosphere over the north and
south poles decreases significantly in
spring, forming a ‘hole’ in the ozone
layer. The decrease is caused by a
chemical reaction between ozone
and a group of man-made chemicals
including CFCs. Concern about this
decrease led to a global agreement
(Montreal Protocol) to ban the
production of these ozone-depleting
chemicals, and this ban is beginning
to have an effect with the slow
recovery of ozone concentrations.