About Radon... About Radon...
Radon is one of 92 naturally-occurring
chemical elements. It is constantly produced by the radioactive
decay of Uranium, which is found in geological formations in
every state.
Radon is a heavy, radioactive gas. The
amount of radioactivity is given in units called Curies,
abbreviated "Ci." In specifying very low levels of
radioactivity, the units are picocuries, abbreviated
"pCi." Just for information, a picocurie is 10-12
of a curie, or one trillionth of a curie. In the case of Radon,
the concentration in indoor air is given in units of
"picocuries per liter of air," abbreviated
"pCi/l." According to public health authorities, Radon
should be of concern if the concentration indoors exceeds 4
pCi/l.
Radon is one of a small group of elements
that is chemically inert. This group includes Helium and Neon,
for instance. Radon is odorless and colorless. When Radon or its
radioactive decay products is inhaled, the radioactive decay
particles produce severe damage to the surface of the lungs.
Because Radon is chemically inactive, it is difficult to trap or
eliminate from the air in a house.
Historically, Radon was first recognized as
a serious public health hazard in the middle 1980s, when a home
in NJ was discovered to have more than 2000 picocuries of Radon
per liter of air! The house contamination was discovered when the
homeowner, who worked at a nuclear power plant, was found to be
himself radioactive by the personnel monitoring equipment at the
plant.
Radiation Data will be happy to provide you
with more detailed information on Radon, its sources,
geographical patterns, measurement protocols, and the like. Simply
call or email us using the form provided with this web site.
Copyright © 2006 Radiation Data. All rights reserved.
Radon can be measured by a number of
methods. The most widely used measuring device is a small
canister containing one ounce or more of activated charcoal. The
canister is opened in the room being tested and left for from two
to seven days. The charcoal accumulates Radon from the air by a
process called adsorption. At the end of the exposure period, the
charcoal canister is sent to a Radon processing lab for analysis.
Detecting Radon
It is usually easy to eliminate Radon once
it is discovered. The method that works in 99% of homes consists
of a simple low-power fan that draws on the soil gas under the
foundation and exhausts it to the air above the roofline. This
does two things: It lowers the ambient pressure of the soil gas
(reducing the driving force that pushes the Radon into the house)
and it replaces the soil gas containing high concentrations of
Radon with makeup air that contains far less Radon.
Eliminating Radon
Revised: December 2006