10 Things to Know About… Where You Live

When choosing where we want to live, we usually ask questions such as, how far you are to the local shops, whether there are any good schools nearby, or if it’s a long and arduous commute to the workplace. We rarely consider how the environment around where we live could affect our health.

In tonight’s episode of the television series 10 Things to Know About… Where You Live on RTÉ One, it’s all about location, location, location. Safe drinking water is a fundamental human right, but groundwater feeding into private wells that aren’t monitored or treated can be contaminated with harmful bacteria that can make us sick. We meet the researchers who are working on solutions to tackle the threat of waterborne diseases in drinking water.

And with the make-up of soil impacting on our entire food chain, we meet a team of researchers investigating whether our crops and animals are getting the nutrients they need from the soil.

Terra Soil is a collaborative research project between Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) and Teagasc to help understand nutrients and trace elements in Irish soils.

Dr Rebecca Hall, a post-doctoral researcher working on the Terra Soil project, explains: “Terra Soil analysed 10,000 soil samples taken as part of Geological Survey Ireland’s Tellus programme in the northern half of Ireland. Using the Tellus geochemical survey samples, we are producing regional maps for the agricultural and wider community, giving greater insights into Ireland’s soil fertility, nutrient management and soil health.”

Nearly a third of adults in Ireland suffer from some form of pollen allergy and, depending on where you live, different pollens could be triggering your hay fever. Also, in this episode, we meet the researchers who are setting up Ireland’s first Pollen Forecast Network to help allergy sufferers avoid unnecessary exposure to pollen and optimise drug treatments.

And in Curious Chronicles, we reveal the fascinating story of the ‘pollen fingerprints’ that helped catch a killer.

Tune into tonight’s episode of 10 Things to Know About… Where You Live at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.

Photo caption: Presenter Kathriona Devereux with Teagasc’s Rebecca Hall on tonight’s episode of 10 Things to Know About… Where You Live.