Radon gas monitoring (FOI)

​Request

A

Which departments of government are currently responsible for monitoring radon gas in Jersey?

B

Is there a programme of testing public properties for radon gas and if so how many properties have detected levels of radon gas?

C

What remedial actions are being undertaken to deal with this and what is the cost so far of detecting and treating radon gas in public buildings?

D

Is there any routine testing of water supplies or use for the presence of radon gas and what actions have been undertaken, if any, to deal with this?

E

Is radon gas mostly encountered in any particular parts of the Island based upon recent monitoring or research?

Response

A

It is acknowledged that several States Departments have specific responsibilities and / or obligations in respect of minimising the potential exposure to radon gas in Jersey. The extent of these obligations depends on the legislation administered by the different departments, which means there is no single lead with the powers and ability to address all radon-related matters.

The Environmental Health Section of the Department of the Environment can advise home owners how to test their property for levels of radon gas and provide information about the results, if requested.

Responsibility to undertake a risk assessment for a building owned by the States of Jersey lies with the organisation responsible for the health and safety of the employees within that building. The risk assessment may determine that monitoring is required.

B

The States of Jersey have been involved with “Public Health England” (PHE) for over 10 years, having consulted with them and their nominated Radiation Protection Advisors (RPAs) over this period, testing a number of Public properties. Exact numbers are not held in a format that could be provided in this response and it is estimated that to check every record would exceed the 12.5 hours allowed under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

However, Jersey Property Holdings is currently working with a Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA) to discuss the implementation of a detailed Radon Gas testing programme.

C

Currently re-assessment is being undertaken on data received and therefore it has not been confirmed whether any remedial actions need to be taken. The cost of testing for radon gas in public buildings and RPA advice sought by Department for Infrastructure since 2013 is £3,640.

D

The States of Jersey do not undertake routine testing of water supplies for the presence of Radon in Jersey.

E

The whole of the Island is identified as potentially having high levels of radiation.

Information about radon testing surveys carried out across the Island can be found on gov.je at the following link:

Radon

Further information is available with the following Scrutiny Reports:

Radon review response

Environmental Scrutiny Panel: Radon

Article applied

Article 16 A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.

Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 allows an authority to refuse a request for information where the estimated cost of dealing with the request would exceed the specified amount of the cost limit of £500. This is the estimated cost of one person spending 12.5 working hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.