Hazardous Materials - Radon Gas

There are many known and unknown gases within or around your home, in which radon gas is one of the health concerns. Radon is a radioactive gas which causes health concerns to home owners. Radon gas is formed by the natural radioactive decay of uranium in rock, soil, and water. As a naturally existing material, low levels of uranium occur widely in Earth's crust. Radon is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and chemically inert. Once produced, radon moves through the ground to the air above. It can be found in every country. Unless you test for it, there is no way of telling how much is present.

Radon is regarded as the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Once produced, radon moves through the ground to the air above. Some remains below the surface and dissolves in water that collects and flows under the ground's surface. Radon has a half-life of about four days - half of a given quantity of it breaks down every four days. When radon undergoes radioactive decay, it emits ionizing radiation in the form of alpha particles. It also produces short-lived decay products, often called progeny or daughters, some of which are also radioactive. Unlike radon, the progeny are not gases and can easily attach to dust and other particles. Those particles can be transported by air and can also be breathed. The decay of progeny continues until stable, non-radioactive progeny are formed. At each step in the decay process, radiation is released. Sometimes, the term radon is used in a broad sense, referring to radon and its radioactive progeny all at once. When testing measures radiation from the progeny, rather than radon itself, the measurements are usually expressed in working level (WL) units. When radiation from radon is measured directly, the amount is usually expressed in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L).

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