RADON

Radon is a chemical element belonging to the group of noble gases. In its gaseous form it is
colorless, odorless and tasteless and in solid form its color is reddish. On the periodic table it
has the number 86 and the symbol Rn. Its average mass is 222, which implies that on average
it has 222-86 = 136 neutrons. Likewise, in the neutral state, it corresponds to having the same
number of electrons as protons, that is, 86.

It is a radioactive and gaseous element, framed within the so-called noble gases.

Radon is a product of the decay of radium (226Ra), a highly radioactive element. The 219Rn
isotope is a product of the decay of actinium, called actinon, and has a half-life of 4 seconds. In
addition to all of these, radon has 22 artificial isotopes, produced by nuclear reactions by
artificial transmutation in cyclotrons and linear accelerators. The most stable isotope is 222Rn,
also the most abundant, with a half-life of 3.2 days and product of the decay of 226Ra. By
emitting alpha particles it becomes 218Po.

Index

1 Applications

2 History and etymology

3 Harmful Effects

4 Radon in homes

4.1 Influence of soil, water and gas

4.2 Influence of construction materials

4.3 Influence of the climatology of the area

5 Radon in laboratories for measuring environmental radioactivity

6 Prevention and mitigation measures in housing

6.1 Information and legislation measures

6.2 Preventive measures: Barrier systems

6.3 Mitigation measures: Radon evacuation

6.3.1 Natural ventilation

6.3.2 Ventilation systems and mechanical evacuation

6.3.3 Surveillance and control measures: Detection systems

7 See also
8 References

9 External links

Applications

Radon emanation from soil varies with soil type and surface uranium content, so open-air
concentrations of radon can be used to follow air masses to a limited degree. This fact has
been put to use by some atmospheric scientists.

Although some physicians once believed that radon can be used therapeutically, there is no
evidence for this belief and radon is not currently in medical use, at least in the developed
world.

The Italian seismologist Gianpaolo Giuliani had anticipated the earthquake that struck central
Italy on April 6, 2009 and based his forecasts on radon gas concentrations in seismically active
areas, he was reported to the police for "raising the alarm" and was he was forced to remove
his conclusions from the Internet. A month before the earthquake of a magnitude between 5.8
and 6.3 on the Richter scale that would have left some 50,000 people homeless, around 26
cities suffered serious damage and more than a hundred died, some vans with loudspeakers
They began to circulate around L'Aquila (Italy) asking their inhabitants to evacuate their
houses, after the seismologist anticipated that a great earthquake would occur. When the
media asked about the authorities' alleged failure to save the population before the
earthquake, the director of the National Institute of Geophysics, Enzo Boschi, played down
Giuliani's predictions. 1 2 3

"Every time there is an earthquake there are people who say they have predicted it," he said.
"As far as I know, no one accurately predicted this quake. It is not possible to predict
earthquakes."

However, there are several precedents for earthquake prediction where the high
concentrations of this gas have been confirmed before the earthquakes. To cite a few
examples: Galicia, Spain in 19974 and Haicheng in China in the 1970s, whose prediction in time
saved thousands of lives. These earthquakes were not predicted based solely on gas
concentration, but this was one of the influencing factors.

History and etymology

Apparatus used by Ramsay and Whytlaw-Gray to isolate radon. M is a capillary tube with
approximately 0.1 mm3 of the isolated gas. Radon mixed with hydrogen enters the evacuation
device through A; mercury is represented in black.

Radon was discovered in 1900 by Friedrich Ernst Dorn, 5 being the fifth known radioactive
element after uranium, thorium, radium and polonium. 6 7 8 9 In 1900 Dorn reported on some
experiments in which reported that radio compounds emit a radioactive gas which he called
Radium emanation (Ra Em) .10 Previously, in 1899, Pierre and Marie Curie had observed that
the gas emitted by radio maintained its radioactivity for one month.11 That In the same year,
Robert Bowie Owens and Ernest Rutherford at McGill University in Montreal observed
variations when trying to measure radiation from thorium oxide.12 Rutherford realized that
thorium compounds continuously emit radioactive gas that conserves radioactive powers for
several minutes, and first called this gas emanation (from the Latin "Emanare"),