Household Environmental Behaviours - Waste and Recycling 2024

This chapter looks at how noise pollution and radon affect households in Ireland. The chapter focuses on how prevalent the different types of noise pollution (Road traffic, Dogs, Neighbouring houses, Airplanes, Industrial, Trains, Hospitality sector) that causes irritation are to Irish households. The chapter also discusses radon testing and the levels found in tested households. What this chapter will highlight is that road traffic is the main source of noise pollution for households and that rural households are more likely to be affected by radon than urban households.

Three in ten 17-34 year olds experienced irritating noise pollution from road traffic

Road traffic was the main source of noise pollution that caused irritation to a household. Although 62% of households did not report any irritating noise pollution, 18% of households experienced it from road traffic, 14% from dogs, 10% from neighbouring houses, and 7% from Airplanes (households could indicate more than one source of noise pollution).

• Owner-occupied households experienced lower levels of noise pollution, with only 63% reporting no noise pollution sufficient to cause irritation, compared to 51% of rented households.
• Three in ten 17-34 year olds experienced irritating noise pollution from road traffic, compared to 18% across all age groups.
• The Border region experienced the least amount of noise pollution, with nearly three quarters (73%) reporting no irritating noise pollution. This is in contrast to Dublin where 54% of people reported no irritating noise pollution.

See Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1.

11% of households have been tested for radon

Radon is a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. It is formed in the ground by the radioactive decay of uranium which is present in all rocks and soils. You cannot see it, smell it or taste it. It can only be measured with special detectors. Radon can cause lung cancer when exposed to high levels over a long period of time. 

• The survey found that 11% of households were tested for radon, with 9% of those tested being above the reference level of 200Bq/m³.
• One in five (20%) households in the West region have tested for radon, compared to less than one in twenty (4%) in Dublin.
• Nearly one in four (24%) of the households in the Border region that were tested for radon had radon levels above the reference level of 200Bq/m³.

See Map 3.1, Table 3.2 and Table 3.3.