Radon

[bigealta]

also I'm getting readings that vary quite a bit in both houses.
So how do the canisters adjust for the varying measurements over the course of days. weeks, and months?

 

[EbS-P]

also I'm getting readings that vary quite a bit in both houses.
So how do the canisters adjust for the varying measurements over the course of days. weeks, and months?

Radon is accumulated exposure. The peaks may scare you more but it’s the total amount of radiation you absorb that has negative effects. The scintillation films basically count every alpha particle they encounter. Ideally several would be placed around the house.

I’m not saying the air things is bad. I just have no data to say it’s good. you have identified an issue. Now it’s time to remedy and then confirm mitigation measures are successful. I wouldn’t use the same detector to confirm mitigation was successful.

 

[bigealta]

Move that detector near a bathroom and see what is says after a shower..

Are you looking for radon levels to increase because of radon in the water or from humidity?

 

[bigealta]

I won't be over to that house for a while. We do have a coop water co that feeds about 500 homes. I can get the water report from them.

Edit I found the report online. Data is from 2018-2023.

 

[EbS-P]

Are you looking for radon levels to increase because of radon in the water or from humidity?

Radon is soluble in water like most gasses. When agitated or evaporated water releases the gas. Some “extra hot” wells were known to almost fizz like a soda bottle when they were opened, not to the same extent.

 

[EbS-P]

I won't be over to that house for a while. We do have a coop water co that feeds about 500 homes. I can get the water report from them.

Edit I found the report online. Data is from 2018-2023.

Remember it’s half life is 4 days. So where you take a sample matters.

 

[bigealta]

Remember it’s half life is 4 days. So where you take a sample matters.

I did do a deep dive on the radon's 1/2 life a week or so ago.
With it breaking down into about 7 different elements (daughters) all with very different 1/2 lives and each with a different threat level to humans it left me more confused than ever.
Example polonium-218 and polonium-214.
And then lead 210 with a 22 year 1/2 life, and polonium 210 with a 1/2 life of 138 days.

And then there is the statement that breathing radon gas in does not do any harm because you breath it out.
The harm is done when it or the daughters attach to dust at even an atomic size particle and those dust particles get breathed in and then stick in the lungs. There is where they cause the DNA damage.

And now let's add drinking it in water. I have yet to dive into the mechanics of how it hurts us by drinking it in?

 

[bigealta]

From what i can tell so far......is that .....This all basically boils down to Don't breath dust in the basement for sure or really anywhere.

Edit: Shoot it looks like the radon from the water gets released mostly thru showering and faucets by releasing itself out of the water. Thus dumping more radon gas into your home.
I love long hot showers, now this is a buzz kill.

 

[EbS-P]

From what i can tell so far......is that .....This all basically boils down to Don't breath dust in the basement for sure or really anywhere.

Edit: Shoot it looks like the radon from the water gets released mostly thru showering and faucets by releasing itself out of the water. Thus dumping more radon gas into your home.
I love long hot showers, now this is a buzz kill.

Time to make a larger door undercut and upgrade the fans.

It would be interesting to know if flooring hard vs carpet had any impact on how much dust you breathe. Air purification would help minimize dust. But one must really understand the particle size.

 

[Dieselhead]

From what i can tell so far......is that .....This all basically boils down to Don't breath dust in the basement for sure or really anywhere.

Edit: Shoot it looks like the radon from the water gets released mostly thru showering and faucets by releasing itself out of the water. Thus dumping more radon gas into your home.
I love long hot showers, now this is a buzz kill.

Get a radon bubbler.

 

[EbS-P]

Get a radon bubbler.

Or a large tank. If it sits 8 days you get 1/4 of the radon. What I’m unsure of is how polonium and others behave in water. Would RO filter them out? I know some of the charcoal filters in some houses that were tested really should have been treated as radioactive waist. But those were really outliers.

At lot of work was done on this all the way up to 2005-2008.

Here is master’s thesis. I got to the UMaine physics department in 2005. CT Hess was still active but in the last years of his career. I met Mary Jo in passing. She might have done a PhD. Not sure.

I did graduate lab with CT Hess.

I didn’t read this one yet.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charles-Hess/publication/253308180_A_Study_of_Radon_in_Air_and_Water_in_Maine_Schools/links/55c8a3c008aea2d9bdc91138/A-Study-of-Radon-in-Air-and-Water-in-Maine-Schools.pdf

 

[bigealta]

Or a large tank. If it sits 8 days you get 1/4 of the radon. What I’m unsure of is how polonium and others behave in water. Would RO filter them out? I know some of the charcoal filters in some houses that were tested really should have been treated as radioactive waist. But those were really outliers.

At lot of work was done on this all the way up to 2005-2008.

Here is master’s thesis. I got to the UMaine physics department in 2005. CT Hess was still active but in the last years of his career. I met Mary Jo in passing. She might have done a PhD. Not sure.

I did graduate lab with CT Hess.

I didn’t read this one yet.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charles-Hess/publication/253308180_A_Study_of_Radon_in_Air_and_Water_in_Maine_Schools/links/55c8a3c008aea2d9bdc91138/A-Study-of-Radon-in-Air-and-Water-in-Maine-Schools.pdf

I downloaded and read some of this, but much of it is beyond me, and also the conclusions seemed pretty non conclusive as other factors were pointed out that were not considered within this study.

 

[bigealta]

Get a radon bubbler.

Gonna talk to the water Co, My neighbor runs it.

 

[EbS-P]

I downloaded and read some of this, but much of it is beyond me, and also the conclusions seemed pretty non conclusive as other factors were pointed out that were not considered within this study.

Welcome to health science done in a physics Department. Let the health professionals and policymakers make decisions moving forward.

My summary is that you need to pay attention air and water levels at the individual structure or room for large structures. If you spend hours in the shower your exposure is higher. With out knowing air and water levels across a long time span you don’t have a good picture of your exposure.

 

[EbS-P]

Took an inter library loan to get a pub from 1983. Data shows washing machines contributed the most radon. Dishwashers more than short showers. So basically it scales to gallons of water used.

 

[bigealta]

So my front load washer should be much better than those old guys from the 80's that used around 50 gallons.
That's good news.

 

[EbS-P]

So my front load washer should be much better than those old guys from the 80's that used around 50 gallons.
That's good news.

Correct! Dishwashers use less too. Some of the samples were crazy high.

 

[semipro]

From what i can tell so far......is that .....This all basically boils down to Don't breath dust in the basement for sure or really anywhere.

Yet another reason (among many) for me to like the heat pump water heater in our basement. It filters the air that it sucks the heat from, hopefully picking up some radon in the process.

Our radon level in the mountains of VA was moderate when I tested years ago. When I re-finished our basement, I sealed all seams, cracks, and pipe intrusions in the foundation slab and walls. I haven't tested since but should.

I probably need to test the water from our 500-ft deep well.

 

[EbS-P]

some radon in the process.

It doesn’t work that way. Radon is a gas just like nitrogen but heavier. The extra filtering might catch some dust with associated daughter products. But it’s really a poor dust filter.

Get that air and water tested.

Aside there were some structures built with materials high in uranium, think concrete, that were in low radon areas but had high radon concentrations from the building materials.