Over half of Mallow homes affected by deadly gas

HALF of the homes tested for Radon in Mallow under the auspices of an award-winning project by two local schoolgirls have shown unacceptably high level of the carcinogenic gas.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the north Cork area has one of the highest rates in the country of the naturally occurring gas.

Known as the ‘silent killer’, radon is the second highest cause of lung cancer in Ireland, responsible for as many as 200-deaths each year.

The north Cork area, and in particular Mallow, is known to be a radon hotspot, with one building in the town having recorded one of the highest levels of the gas ever found at more than 60 times the higher than the acceptable limit.

With this in mind Caoimhe Cronin and Shauna Murphy, second year students at St Mary’s Secondary School in Mallow undertook an ambitious project based on measuring local radon levels in the town.

The project picked up three awards at the 2015 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, including the prestigious Intel Student of Excellence Award.

This resulted in the duo being selected to represent Ireland at the recent Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) in the US, winning two awards

Their work is based on measuring radon levels in Mallow houses, the local water supply and in their own school.

To do this they engineered their own ingenious radon detectors for houses using yoghurt pots and tastrak, a clear stable plastic which is sensitive to energetic protons.

One of the detectors is left in a house for six-weeks, with another placed outside the building for comparison purposes after which the girls analyse the plastic to measure radon levels.

“Worryingly, one in every two houses fully tested showed unacceptably high levels of radon. A solution to this problem is to install an efficient ventilations system,” added Shauna.

While measures have been taken at St Mary’s to minimise exposure to radon, the girls are working to identify where ventilation can be improved minimising further radon exposure.

They are also investigating radon levels in water, testing samples taken from the Mallow reservoir and well water.

Interestingly, they found that groundwater contained more radon, with the geological conditions of well water meaning radon is less likely to escape when compared to water from the reservoir.

While the girls have received support from Tastrak Analysis Systems, the Radiological Protections Institute of Ireland and JMP a company that specialises in statistical analysis, their work is predominantly based at a school lab under the guidance of science teacher Martin Timmons.

Both girls believe their work can provide a template for future research and have already began expanding the remit of their project through the testing of plants to investigate how radon can be absorbed through them and into the food chain.

Both Caoimhe and Shauna hope their work will benefit their future career choices.

“It will look great on the CV. Also, our skills in maths and science have come on considerably. This should be of great help when we take on these subjects in the Leaving Cert,” said a smiling Shauna.

“We have also made invaluable contacts at university level, which may be useful in the future,” added Caoimhe.