Radon is a tasteless, odorless, colorless, naturally-occurring radioactive gas that has been found in home all over the United States. Most indoor radon is derived from uranium in underlying soil and rock that gradually seeps into buildings through cracks or other openings in the ground floor. Houses with unusually high concentrations of indoor radon are typically on rock and soil that contain unusually high uranium concentrations. Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Radon can also enter your home through well water.
Breathing high concentrations of radon may cause respiratory problems in susceptible individuals; health risks for exposure of lower concentrations are not known.
The concentration of radon is generally measured in pico curies per liter (pCi/L), which is a measure of the number of nuclear decays per minute in a liter of air or water. One pico curie corresponds to about two decays per minute. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Testing is the only way to determine whether a home has a high level of indoor radon. Two types of radon monitors are commercially available for use in home and other buildings. One is the charcoal canister, a small can that is placed in the home for several days and returned to the manufacturer for analysis. The other type of detector consists of a plastic film that records the tracts of alpha particles that are emitted by atmospheric radon and its decay products. Through useful for a spot check, this type of detector does not measure average radon levels over longer time periods.
The following list is a number of methods to reducing indoor-radon levels:
1. Sealing the floor
2. Ventilating the basement or crawl space
3. Fans to suck air from basement or crawl space
4. Placing pipes under the home to remove soil gas before it enters the home
5. Evaporate coolers and electrostatic dust filters
For more information about Radon Gas Potential Zones in this report, contact the: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/radon
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
