Deputy John Young was the chairman of the Environment Scrutiny Panel in 2014 when it carried out an investigation into the levels of the odourless and colourless gas.
The report was critical of the level of radon testing that has been carried out and said that two cases of lung cancer in Jersey every year could be associated with exposure to the gas.
Radon, which is generated by underground uranium deposits, is radioactive and has been linked with causing lung cancer following years or decades of exposure.
Deputy Young, who became Environment Minister after being re-elected as a States Member earlier this year, said that not enough action had been taken since the 2014 report was published.
‘This is not something that should be forgotten about. We highlighted a lot of issues in 2014 about radon,’ he said.
‘We are a high-risk island because Jersey’s geology is based on igneous rock. The Environmental Health Department now comes under the Environment Minister and I will make sure that they have the resources to deal with this.
‘We don’t have the resources to carry out Islandwide testing for radon but we need to raise awareness of the dangers of it and make people aware of how they can deal with it if they need to.
‘Exposure to radon is particularly bad for smokers and can increase their chances of lung cancer by ten times if they are exposed to it for long periods.’
He added: ‘There are also a lot of older properties which are poorly ventilated or do not have an underground membrane to protect them. Also more properties have double-glazing nowadays, which increases the changes of trapping the gas.’
Last week, Andium Homes, Jersey’s social housing provider, announced it had carried out radon testing in more than 1,700 properties during the last year, detecting levels in 42 homes which were above the ‘action level’ of 200 becquerels per cubic metre, at which remediation work is ‘strongly recommended’.
Andium has also criticised the thoroughness of States testing over the years, with only around 135 properties tested before they carried out their survey.
The company, which has called for wider testing to be carried out across the Island, has notified tenants in contaminated properties and is planning to carry out remedial work where necessary.
Radon testing can be carried out relatively cheaply, for around £60 to £70, by deploying two units, which are half the size of a golf ball, in a home for a six-month testing period.
Remediation work, which usually involves improving ventilation, typically costs around £1,000. Radon contamination is only a danger in ground-floor properties because it emanates from the ground.
Regulations which were introduced in 1997 mean that properties built after that year should be protected by impermeable sheets built into their foundations.
