Indoor radon and decay products: Concentrations, causes, and control strategies

Nero, A.V.; Gadgil, A.J.; Nazaroff, W.W.; Revzan, K.L.

doi:10.2172/6318312

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Radon, a decay product of radium ( 226 Ra) in the naturally occurring uranium series, is an inert gas and can diffuse through the soil, rocks and building materials. The half-life of 222 Rn (3.8 days) is long enough so that much of the radon formed either in building materials or in the ground within approximately a meter of building understructures can reach the indoor environment (Nero et al, 1990). It decays into a series of short-lived daughter products, out of which 218 Po and 214 Po emit highenergy -particles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The study of indoor radon in dwellings of Bathinda district, Punjab, India and its correlation with uranium and radon exhalation rate in soil

Singh¹,

Kumar²,

Mahajan³

2005

Radiation Measurements

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The study of indoor radon in dwellings of Bathinda district, Punjab, India and its correlation with uranium and radon exhalation rate in soil

Singh¹,

Kumar²,

Mahajan³

2005

Radiation Measurements

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“…Set among this background of random tracks are discrete clusters of tracks originating from minerals like zircon, sphene and apatite that contain higher levels of U. Soil is believed to contribute more than 90 % of the Rn in single-family residences (Nero, 1990). The research reported here was carried out to test the null hypothesis that dispersed U has no relationship to basement Rn level, this particular measure of Rn representing a large body of existing data that might reflect soil Rn levels in Illinois.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil uranium, basement radon and lung cancer in Illinois, USA

Jones

1995

Environ Geochem Health

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Using counties as the sampling unit, a significant association between the chemical form of uranium occurring in soils with basement radon levels was found (Spearman r, 0.266; p > |r|, 0.007). Uranium atoms dispersed throughout the soil matrix are efficient emanators of Rn to soil gas, whereas Rn that is trapped diffuses very slowly from the several U-bearing minerals in Illinois soils and does not contribute significantly to explaining basement Rn. Basement Rn level is correlated with annual incidence of male and female lung cancers. Dispersed U is correlated with annual incidence of lung cancer in females with a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.162 (p > |r|, 0.104) and males of 0.177 (p > |r|, 0.075).

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“…This type of investigation increases the knowledge on the behaviour of the isotopes in natural cycles and, in particular, in the superficial environment (Badr et al, 1993;Lima et al, 2005). In this context the main role played by soils, as compared with those of the underlying rocks, has been recognised since they contribute more than 90% of Rn in houses (Akerblom et al, 1984;Nero et al, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Natural radioactivity levels (K, Th, U and Rn) in the Cecita Lake area (Sila Massif, Calabria, Southern Italy): An attempt to discover correlations with soil features on a statistical base

Buccianti¹,

Apollaro²,

Bloise³

et al. 2009

Geoderma

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Soils can exhibit a complex range of physical, mineralogical, and chemical features depending on many interrelated factors such as parental rock composition and mineralogy, climate, topography, vegetation amounts and types, water infiltration versus runoff, soil moisture, organic matter, presence and types of anthropogenic contaminants, and many others. Radioactivity as measured on these complex systems is consequently perturbed by several mixed effects. In order to find out a possible (potential) relationship among soil properties and experimental data attributable to radioactivities of K, Th, U and Rn a detailed investigation has been performed in the Cecita Lake basin (Sila Grande, Calabria, Southern Italy). Most of the soil types outcropping in the Cecita Lake surroundings belong to the Entisol and Inceptisol orders [USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), 2006. Keys to Soil Taxonomy. 10th edit., USDA, Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington D.C., 333 pp.], representing relatively young, poorly to moderately differentiated soils, showing features strongly dependent on the nature of the parent rock and the climatic conditions. Disintegrations contributed by K, Th, U and Rn measured respectively in % (K), ppm (U and Th) and kBq/m 3 (Rn), have been related to 13 a priori known soil unit groups with well-defined general features and spatial position. The data have been analysed by using graphical and numerical statistical procedures able to manage compositional data in a correct sample space. The paper summarises the results of this research and highlights the conclusions drawn from these investigations, particularly concerning i) the modelling of the high U variability, a behaviour that tends to homogenise the differences potentially attributable to soil features, with the exception of situations where uranium could be enriched due to adsorption onto iron oxi-hydroxides and/or clay minerals or concentrated in argillic horizons due to illuviation; ii) the discovering of the discriminative effect of the K/Th ratio values, particularly for soil groups where Th behaviour, as other tetravalent actinides, is strongly affected by the presence of mineral colloids or where the presence of clays affects the trapping of K; iii) the clustering of the a priori known soil groups in four new sets characterised by internal similarities for Rn values for which the morphology appears to be the most important discriminative effect.

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Indoor radon and decay products: Concentrations, causes, and control strategies

Cited by 17 publications

References 72 publications

The study of indoor radon in dwellings of Bathinda district, Punjab, India and its correlation with uranium and radon exhalation rate in soil

The study of indoor radon in dwellings of Bathinda district, Punjab, India and its correlation with uranium and radon exhalation rate in soil

Soil uranium, basement radon and lung cancer in Illinois, USA

Natural radioactivity levels (K, Th, U and Rn) in the Cecita Lake area (Sila Massif, Calabria, Southern Italy): An attempt to discover correlations with soil features on a statistical base

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