Factors influencing soil as a source of indoor radon: Framework for assessing radon source potential
Year: 1989
Type: report
Abstract: In less than a decade the consensus concerning the nature and extent of the problem of radon in indoor air has been radically revised. Rather than simply a problem that arises due to molecular diffusion of radon from industrially contaminated building materials or fill materials, we now recognize that the vast majority of structures with elevated indoor concentrations are unexceptional in other regards. In most cases, radon enters predominantly via the substructure through convective flow augmented by molecular diffusion. The importance of soil as a source of indoor radon and the importance of the convective flow process for radon entry are seen in the considerable success of control measures directed at reversing the ordinary direction of flow of soil gas through pathways across the building substructure. We have described and discussed mechanisms of radon generation in soil and entry into the soil pore space, the physics of radon migration through soil, and the driving forces that generate pressure gradients in the soil surrounding buildings which lead to convective migration of radon into buildings. A mathematical description of radon concentration in the soil pore space has been developed that accounts for production and removal by radioactive decay and for diffusive and convective flow through the soil. We have reviewed the important soil and climatic variables that influence these processes and have attempted to evaluate their effects. 190 refs., 19 figs., 13 tabs.
DOI: 10.2172/5494347
Authors: W. Nazaroff, B. Moed, R. Sextro, K. Revzan, A. Nero
Language: English
Subfield: Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1398330795, G1643223109, G193590374
OpenAlex ID: W17675664