Radon
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive element that can be found in
soil, underground water, and outdoor air. Some of the properties of this gas
include being odorless, tasteless, and colorless. The concentrations vary
throughout the country depending on the types of rocks that are found in the
soil. Exposure over prolonged periods of time to radon decay products has been
associated with an increased risk of lung cancer.(3) The EPA describes an
elevated concentration as being at or above their suggested guidelines of 4pCi/l
(pico Curies per liter, used as a radiation unit of measure for radon).
Exposures below this level may create a risk of lung cancer, farther reductions
to lower levels may be too difficult or even impossible to achieve.(4)
Radon enters buildings through: exposed soil in crawl spaces, through
cracks, openings in floors, and through below grade walls and floors. This is
the primary source of elevated radon levels in buildings.(5) Outdoor air
contains radon, but it is in extremely low concentrations therefore it is not a
health hazard. Some wells contain water that has radon dissolved in it. This
can be a hazard if the water is agitated or heated, allowing the gas to escape
and elevate the levels that are in the building.(6)
Health Risk
The Surgeon General's office reports that indoor radon gas is a national
health problem. This gas causes thousands of deaths every year.(7) These
deaths are a result of lung cancer, which is caused by the radioactive particles
that make up the gas.(8) The likelihood of getting lung cancer from radon
depends on: the concentration that you are exposed to, the amount of time that
you are exposed, and whether you smoke or not. The radioactive particles are
inhaled when we breathe, and become trapped in the lungs. Once in the lungs
they release small amounts of energy that can damage the tissue of the lungs
which in turn can cause cancer.(9)
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, with smoking being
number one according to the Surgeon Generals office.(10) Smoking greatly
increases the risk of getting lung cancer. Non smokers are allot less likely to
get lung cancer from radon than smokers.(11) Radon is a big problem because a
majority of the population spends most of its time indoors. This increases the
amount of time that they a...
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... and corrective
measures radon can effectively be dealt with.
Citations
1. Radon Reduction in New Construction. Washington: GPO, March, 1993. 2. Home
Buyer's and Sellers Guide to Radon. Washington: GPO, March, 1993. 3. Murphy,
James. "The Colorless, Odorless Killer". TIME: July, 1985: P.72 4. ibid. P.21
5. Consumers Guide to Radon Reduction. Washington: GPO, August, 1992. P.4 6.
ibid. P.5 7. A Guide to Radon. Washington: GPO, September, 1993. P.14 8. ibid.
P.9 9. ibid. P.15 10. ibid. P.3 11. ibid. P.3 12. ibid. P.5 13. ibid. P.6
14. ibid. P.13 15. ibid. P.7 16. ibid. P.2 17. ibid. P.2 18. Murphy, James.
"The Colorless, Odorless Killer". TIME: July, 1985: P.72 19. A Guide to Radon.
Washington: GPO, September, 1993. P.14 20. ibid. P.9 21. ibid. P.19 22. ibid.
P.19 23. ibid. P.6 24. ibid. P.17 25. ibid. P.2
Bibliography
1. A Guide to Radon. Washington: GPO, September, 1993
2. Consumers Guide to Radon Reduction. Washington: GPO, August, 1992.
3. Home Buyer's and Sellers Guide to Radon. Washington: GPO, March, 1993.
4. Murphy, James. "The Colorless, Odorless Killer". TIME: July, 1985
5. Radon Reduction in New Construction. Washington: GPO, March, 1993.
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from the book itself to help me state that my thesis was right. I had also found three
The water moves at a faster rate since there is nothing to absorb the water, which could cause flooding.
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Heinrichs, Jay. Thank You for Arguing. 1st ed. revised. Three Rivers Press: New York, New
The element Radon was discovered in 1899. Friedrich Ernst Dorn discovered Radon in Halle, Germany when he was experimenting with Radium. In 1908, Robert Gray and William Ramsey isolated the gas. They named the element nitron. Since 1923 the element has been called Radon. It’s name is derived from the element Radium. Radon was first detected as an emission from Radium. Radon’s element symbol is Rn. Radon’s atomic mass is 86 and it’s in the noble gas family. It contains 86 protons, 136 neutrons and 86 electrons. Radon’s electron configuration is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 5d10 4f14 6p6. Radon is a gas at room temperature and its density is .00973 g/cm3. Radon is the most densest gases at room temperature. Radon begins
56, No. 3 (1989), pp. 543-569. The Johns Hopkins University Press. JSTOR. Web. 24 April 2014.
thereby attempts in the Appendix to argue on the following crucial points: 1) The reason
causes many respiratory diseases (http://www.thetruth.com/issues/tbtc/behind.cfm).
J. Losos, K. Mason, S. Singer, based on the work of P. Raven, & G. Johnson, Biology, 8th ed., (McGraw-Hill Education (Asia), Singapore, 2008), pp. 994-995.