24 Facts About Radon

Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86.

Radon can occur in some ground water like spring waters and hot springs.

Radon is a contaminant that affects indoor air quality worldwide.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas and therefore is not detectable by human senses alone.

Radon is a member of the zero-valence elements that are called noble gases, and is chemically not very reactive.

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Radon can be oxidized by powerful oxidizing agents such as fluorine, thus forming radon difluoride .

Radon oxides are among the few other reported compounds of radon; only the trioxide has been confirmed.

Radon carbonyl has been predicted to be stable and to have a linear molecular geometry.

Radon was the fifth radioactive element to be discovered, in 1899 by Ernest Rutherford and Robert B Owens at McGill University in Montreal, after uranium, thorium, radium, and polonium.

Radon concentrations found in natural environments are much too low to be detected by chemical means.

Radon is produced by the radioactive decay of radium-226, which is found in uranium ores, phosphate rock, shales, igneous and metamorphic rocks such as granite, gneiss, and schist, and to a lesser degree, in common rocks such as limestone.

Radon mostly appears with the decay chain of the radium and uranium series, and marginally with the thorium series .

Radon mostly enters a building directly from the soil through the lowest level in the building that is in contact with the ground.

Radon is condensed by liquid nitrogen and purified from residue gases by sublimation.

Radon has been produced commercially for use in radiation therapy, but for the most part has been replaced by radionuclides made in particle accelerators and nuclear reactors.

Radon has been used in implantable seeds, made of gold or glass, primarily used to treat cancers, known as brachytherapy.

Radon soil-concentration has been used in an experimental way to map buried close-subsurface geological faults because concentrations are generally higher over the faults.

Radon is a known pollutant emitted from geothermal power stations because it is present in the material pumped from deep underground.

Radon-222 decay products have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as being carcinogenic to humans, and as a gas that can be inhaled, lung cancer is a particular concern for people exposed to elevated levels of radon for sustained periods.

Radon resulting from the high radium content in uncovered dumps and tailing ponds can be easily released into the atmosphere and affect people living in the vicinity.

Radon exposure has been linked to lung cancer in numerous case-control studies performed in the US, Europe and China.

Radon has been considered the second leading cause of lung cancer and leading environmental cause of cancer mortality by the EPA, with the first one being smoking.

Radon, like other known or suspected external risk factors for lung cancer, is a threat for smokers and former smokers.

Radon levels are at a maximum during the coolest part of the day when pressure differentials are greatest.