A map has revealed the risk households face from exposure to a radioactive gas linked to lung cancer.
Looking at the interactive map from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), you'll see a Merseyside devoid of colour compared to the dark, mountainous North Wales and the Peak District. Closer inspection reveals purple patches scattered across the region - one at the south western end of the Wirral Peninsula, one over Croxteth Park, and a scattering around Prescot and St Helens.
It's more than a splash of colour over an otherwise familiar map of the UK. Each square is shaded according to the maximum radon potential in that 1km area. The darker the shading, the higher the chance of the potentially lethal gas - linked with more than 1,100 lung cancer deaths in the UK each year - being present. The risk ranges from one in 100 homes in the lightest areas, to one in three in the darkest.
