Kentucky leads the nation in both lung cancer incidence and percent smoking. In addition, many of the counties have average radon levels above the Environmental Protection Agency recommended action level. Guided by the Precaution Adoption Process Model, the purposes of this study were to: 1) examine the relationship between synergistic risk perception (radon plus tobacco smoke) and intention to...

Radon is a noble gas formed from the natural radioactive decay of uranium (U) and thorium (Th), natural components of the earth’s crust, which decay to radium (Ra) and then to radon (Rn). Decay chains include Ra and Rn for U; Ra and Rn for U; and Ra and Rn for Th. As radium decays, radon is formed and released into pores in the soil. Fissures and pores in the substrate allow the radon to migrat...

Introduction There are different national approaches to the analysis, processing and presentation of indoor radon data. Some of them were presented at the international workshop in Lausanne (IGAR 2005). EU radon surveys were compiled in JRC Ispra summary report (Dubois 2005). Swiss experience on indoor radon data treatment and mapping using geostatistical approaches (both interpolations and sim...

The State of Florida has a draft radon standard for new construction. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two slab types (monolithic and slab-in-stem wall) in retarding radon entry in new houses built in accordance with the proposed standard over high radon potential soils. Fourteen houses were monitored during their construction on sites whose soil gas radon concentration...

The selection of effective radon-proof insulation from the total amount of tanking materials is very difficult due to the lack of information about radon diffusion through these materials and the absence of general guidelines for the design of radon barriers. This report describes a method for radon diffusion coefficients determination used in the Czech Republic. Results of radon diffusion coef...

Building regulations in Israel require the insulating of buildings against radon (222)Rn penetration from soil. In radon-prone areas membranes stretched between the soil and the building foundation are used, together with sealing other possible penetration routes. Designing the radon mitigation procedure requires checking that all sealing materials are practically, radon tight, having a thickne...

Radiation from natural sources is one of causes of the environmental diseases. Radon is the leading environmental cause of lung cancer next to smoking. To investigate the relationship between indoor radon concentrations and lung cancer, researchers must be able to estimate an individual's cumulative level of indoor radon exposure and to do so, one must first be able to assess indoor radon conce...

INTRODUCTION The Rn(radon) family is the most significant source of exposure to natural radiation, causing about one-half of the public effective dose. A number of international organizations, including UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) and ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) have officially reported this fact since the 1980’...

The mechanism and critical conditions of rock failure in underground coal mining processes have attracted great attention. Based on the origin and properties of radon gas, we propose that radon release from underground strata to the surface occurs in two stages, i.e., the formation of free radon and the migration of radon gas. Due to its optimal combination of efficiency and low background meas...