Gas infiltration from soil into buildings.Rock and soil produce radon gas. Building materials, the water supply, and natural gas can all be sources of radon in the home.
Radioactivity. Radioactivity is the spontaneous disintegration or decay of the nucleus of an atom by emission of particles, usually accompanied by electromagnetic radiation. Natural radioactivity is exhibited by several elements, including uranium, radium, radon gas, and radon's daughters.  A. Radon is a radioactive gas that is formed naturally by the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water. As a gas, radon is slowly released from the ground, water, and some building materials that contain very small amounts of uranium, such as concrete, bricks, tiles and gyproc. Radon gas breaks down further to form additional radioactive particles called radon daughters, or. that can be breathed into the lungs. 1 The main source of indoor radon is radon gas infiltration from soil into buildings. 2  Rock and soil produce radon gas. 3  Building materials, the water supply, and natural gas can all be sources of radon in the home. 4  Basements allow more opportunity for soil gas entry than slab-on-grade foundations. 1 Rock and soil produce radon gas. 2  Building materials, the water supply, and natural gas can all be sources of radon in the home. 3 Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas. It forms naturally from the decay (breaking down) of radioactive elements, such as uranium, which are found in different amounts in soil and rock throughout the world. Radon gas in the air breaks down into tiny radioactive elements (radon progeny) that can lodge in the lining of the lungs, where they can give off radiation. This radiation can damage lung cells and eventually lead to lung cancer. Well water can be another source of indoor radon. Radon released by well water during showering or other activities may release radon gas into the home. Radon in water is a much smaller factor in radon exposure than radon in soil. Radon exposure outdoors is much less of a risk than indoors because the radon is diluted to low concentrations by the large volume of air. 1 Building materials, the water supply, and natural gas can all be sources of radon in the home. 2  Basements allow more opportunity for soil gas entry than slab-on-grade foundations. 1 Rock and soil produce radon gas. 2  Building materials, the water supply, and natural gas can all be sources of radon in the home. 3 PRODUCTION: Radon is not produced as a commercial product. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas and comes from the natural breakdown (radioactive decay) of uranium. It is usually found in igneous rock and soil, but in some cases, well water may also be a source of radon. Radon is a cancer-causing radioactive gas. You cannot see, smell or taste radon, but it may be a problem in your home. The Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. Unlike all the other intermediate elements in the aforementioned decay chains, radon is gaseous and easily inhaled. Thus, even in this age of nuclear reactors, naturally-occurring radon is responsible for the majority of the public exposure to ionizing radiation. Thorium and uranium, their decay product radium, and its decay product radon, will therefore continue to occur for tens of millions of years at almost the same concentrations as they do now. As radon itself decays, it produces new radioactive elements called radon daughters or decay products. Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as a decay product of radium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days. Radon is one of the densest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions. Thorium and uranium, their decay product radium, and its decay product radon, will therefore continue to occur for tens of millions of years at almost the same concentrations as they do now. As radon itself decays, it produces new radioactive elements called radon daughters or decay products.
http://www.radon.com/radon/radioactivity.html http://hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/radiation/radon/faq_fq-eng.php http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=8&po=5 http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/pollution/radon http://www.rtca.com/radon_sources.asp http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=8&po=5 http://www.radon.com/radon/radon_facts.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon
source of radioactive gaseous radon in homes