Radon in houses, its relation to hydrogeology, on Rosebud reservation, South Dakota

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:126031

Huq, S Y; Mack, C L ^[1]

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1. RST Water Resources & Environment, Rosebud, SD (United States)

The Study area comprises Todd and Mellette counties in south-central South Dakota, Thirty houses in each county were surveyed for radon levels and the results were used to establish some relationship if any, between the radon levels and geological formations over which the houses are located, to depth to water table beneath the houses, to the location in the houses where the radon levels were measured, to houses with crawl space and without crawl space, to age of houses and to radon levels in groundwater beneath the houses. The radon levels in the houses surveyed ranges from less than 2 pCi/l to 24 pCi/l (EPA Action level) in five houses in Todd County and thirteen houses in Mellette county. There are four geological formations over which the houses are located ranging from coarse sandstone, fine sandstone, siltstone to shale. The age of houses ranges from 1-3 years to over 30 years. Twenty groundwater samples were analyzed. The depth to water table ranges from less than 15 feet to over 100 feet. The average radon levels of 6 pCi/l was the highest in houses located on the Pierre Shale and Lowest on the Ogallala sandstone averaging 2.45 pCi/l. The older the houses the less the average radon detected. The average radon levels in houses 1-5 years old was 7.2 pCi/l as compared to 2.8 pCi/l in houses older than 30 years. The houses with basement and no crawl space indicated higher radon levels with an average of 4.28 pCi/l. Radon measured in basement of houses was higher, as compared to radon in the first floor of houses. There was no clear trend in the radon level in groundwater within the different geological formation and no clear trend between radon and depth to water table. Some houses with high radon were located in areas with shallow depth to water table. Radon in groundwater was not high enough for any concern. The data so far evaluated is limited. However, all other criteria being the same, the houses on the Pierre Shale indicated higher average radon level.

• Research Organization: National Association of Environmental Professionals, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 126031
• Report Number(s): CONF-9506115--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
GEOLOGY
HYDROLOGY
INDIAN RESERVATIONS
INDOOR AIR CONTAMINATION
RADON
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SOUTH DAKOTA