Radon and indoor air pollution

Radon and Indoor Air Pollution Units of Radiation Measurement Summary Key Terms... 

Applications. Both industrial emissions reduction and indoor air-pollution abatement uses will grow. For example, the development of adsorbents with higher capacity for removal of radon from humid air could allow the development of a one-bed, delay-for-decay system in wliich radon adsorbs, decays to lead, and is precipitated onto the adsorbent. 

Effects of indoor air pollutants on humans are essentially the same as those described in Chapter 7. However, there can be some additional pollutant exposures in the indoor environment that are not common in the ambient setting. From the listing in Table 23-1, radon exposures indoors present a radiation hazard for the development of lung cancer. Environmental tobacco smoke has been found to cause lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Biological agents such as molds and other toxins may be a more likely exposure hazard indoors than outside. 

Problems that rank relatively high in cancer and non-cancer health risks but low in ecological and welfare risks include hazardous air pollutants, indoor radon, indoor air pollution other than radon, pesticide application, exposure to consumer products, and worker exposures to chemicals... 

Table 15.1 summarizes the major species of concern for indoor air pollution and some of their sources (Su, 1996). We focus in this chapter primarily on those species common to indoor and outdoor air environments, including oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds (VOC), CO, ozone, the OH radical, S02, and particles. In addition, a brief discussion of radon is included since this has been one of the major foci of concern in the past with respect to indoor air pollution. 

Bayer, C. M., The Effect of Building Bake-Out Conditions on Volatile Organic Compound Emissions, in Indoor Air Pollution—Radon, Bioaerosols, VOC s (J. G. Kay, G. E. Keller, and... 

Naik, D. V., C. J. Weschler, and H. C. Shields, Indoor and Outdoor Concentrations of Organic Compounds Associated with Airborne Particles Results Using a Novel Solvent System, in Indoor Air Pollution—Radon, Bioaerosols, VOC s (J. G. Kay, G. E. Keller, and J. F. Miller, Eds.), Chap. 6, pp. 59-70, Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, MI, 1991. 

Since the mid-1980s, there has been a growing concern among some pollution experts with the topic of indoor air pollution, and as a major part of this problem, the presence in homes and other structures of ionizing radiation in the form of radon gas. It is beginning to appear that radon s earlier designation as radium emanation was not inappropriate. Most health... 

Indoor Pollutants. In general, the term indoor air pollution refers to home and nonfactory public buildings such as office buildings and hospitals. Pollution can come from heating and cooking, pesticides, tobacco smoking, radon, gases, and microbes from people and animals. 

Radon progeny - the decay products of radon gas - are a well-recognized cause of lung cancer in miners. When radon was found to be a ubiquitous indoor air pollutant, however, it raised a more widespread alarm for public health. Since 1994, a systematic radon survey has been done in 1,524 buildings and dwellings of 14 cities in China. The results showed that the highest indoor radon concen-... 

Indoor air pollution is caused by radon, a radioactive gas formed during uranium decay carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, products of combustion and formaldehyde, a volatile organic substance released from resins used in construction materials. 

Topics addressed in the kit include mold, radon, secondhand smoke, asthma, portable classrooms, basic measurement equipment, hiring professional assistance, codes and regulations, and integrated pest management, as well as other typical indoor air pollutants and pollutants from motor vehicles and equipment. The program uses checklists for different job functions, e.g., facilities managers, teachers, nurses, food service workers, videos and awards programs, and fact sheets on major issues. 

Air pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the Earth s atmosphere. Indoor air pollution and urban air quality were listed as two of the world s worst toxic pollution problems in 2008 [1]. A pollutant in the air is a substance that can have adverse effects on humans and the environment. It exists as a solid particle, a liquid droplet, or a gas. A pollutant can be man-made or originate in nature (example radon gas). The two main sources of pollutants are stationary ones like factories and industries and mobile sources such as motor vehicles and ships. 

Indoor air pollutants, including radon gas, can pose significant health risks. Radon is a radioactive gas found in the soils and rocks of Earth s crust. It finds its way into homes through cracks in the foundation or basement, and sometimes through the water supply. Radon is invisible and odorless, and becomes a health hazard when it is allowed to build up inside the home. The isotope of radon commonly found in homes is radon-222, a product of the uranium-238 decay chain, formed by the a decay of radium-226. Radon-222, in turn, decays by a emission. 

As discussed in Section 7.2, radioactive radon anitted from the geosphere below dwellings can be a serious indoor air pollutant. In some areas where radon can be a problem, testing for this indoor air pollutant is required when a dwelling is sold, and it may be necessary to install ventilation facilities around the foundations of afflicted buildings. 

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