The Director of Environmental Health & Pollution Regulation in the States of Guernsey, Val Cameron, has lent her support to the Radon Tee campaign.
Mrs Cameron was speaking at the UK’s 11th Radon Forum and revealed the results of a recent testing programme on the Islands. Whilst there were only a handful of properties surveyed in Guernsey where radon concentrations exceeded the Action Level (200 Bq/m3), 18% of those homes tested in Jersey were about the level where remedial action is recommended.
Held at the Health Protection Agency, the Radon Forum is an annual event where knowledge and experience is shared between stakeholders including regulators, industry, local authorities and the Building Research Establishment.
This year’s Forum was centred on how to achieve “joined-up thinking” in encouraging individuals to reduce their lung cancer risk from not only radon but smoking cessation as well.
Mrs Cameron and other speakers also focused on the need to ensure that energy-efficient building methods do not inadvertently increase radon levels. Laura Storey from the Health Protection Agency gave details on a new project that will investigate whether owners of newly built homes in radon ‘affected areas’ are aware of what (if any) radon protection measures have been installed. Homeowners will also be given the opportunity to test their new home, which should reveal whether radon protection is being adequately and carefully installed.
