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Radon: Radon Gas
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Radon gas is a chemically inert, odorless, colorless, and tasteless naturally-occurring radioactive element found in soils and rocks that make up the earth's crust. It comes from the normal decay of radium. Because it is a gas, it can easily move through soil and water and enter the atmosphere. Radon gas has a half-life approximating four days, after which it decays into four daughter products. These solid decay products are not inert and often attach themselves to airborne particulates which may then enter the lungs. These particles with attached radon daughters may become lodged in the lungs where the radon daughters undergo rapid decay, emitting radiation that damages lung tissue.
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Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is odorless, colorless and tasteless. It comes from the natural decay of uranium, which is found in the soil throughout Wyoming. Radon enters homes and buildings from the soil beneath through cracks and other openings in the foundation. Exposure to radon increases your risk of developing lung cancer. Approximately 21,000+ lung cancer deaths each year are attributable to radon. Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United
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Radon daughters have very short half-lives ranging from a fraction of a second to 27 minutes. As a result, radon daughters are present in significant quantities only as long as radon is present. If all the radon gas is removed, the radioactivity of radon daughters will fade away quickly.
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Radon gas can penetrate houses from many sources in many fashions. It is not possible to radon-proof a home, but it is possible to reduce its level. The most important contributor to indoor radon is the soil from which radon can be drawn through large and small subsurface gaps in the house foundation. Houses that are in direct contact with the ground will have higher radon levels than houses with an air space under the dwelling. Radon levels in the upper floors of a multi-story building are lower than on the ground floor. If one lives in a high radon area, it is prudent to determine the level in the home and to take appropriate action if the level is found to be high, i.e. greater than 4-8 pCi/liter (NCRP recommended level is 8 pCi/liter, the EPA recommended level is 4 pCi/liter).
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Radon gas can move through small spaces in the soil and rock upon which a house is built. It can seep into a home through dirt floors, cracks in concrete, sumps, joints, basement drains, under the furnace base and jack posts if the base is buried in the floor. Concrete-block walls are particularly porous to radon and radon trapped in water from wells can be released into the air when the water is used.
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Radon is found in some petroleum. Because radon has a similar pressure and temperature curve as propane, and oil refineries separate petrochemicals based on their boiling points, the piping carrying freshly separated propane in oil refineries can become somewhat radioactive due to radon decay particles. Residues from the oil and gas industry often contain radium and its daughters. The sulphate scale from an oil well can be very radium rich, while the water, oil and gas from a well often contains radon. The radon decays to form solid radioisotopes which form coatings on the inside of pipework. In an oil processing plant the area of the plant where propane is processed is often one of the more contaminated areas of the plant as radon has a similar boiling point as propane.[38]
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Radon Gas