The impacts of balanced and exhaust mechanical ventilation on indoor radon

Conference · Sat Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6412760

Fisk, W J; Mowris, R J

Models for estimating radon entry rates, indoor radon concentrations, and ventilation rates in houses with a basement or a vented crawl-space and ventilated by natural infiltration, mechanical exhaust ventilation, or balanced mechanical ventilation are described. Simulations are performed for a range of soil and housing characteristics using hourly weather data for the heating season in Spokane, WA. For a house with a basement, we show that any ventilation technique should be acceptable when the soil permeability is less than approximately 10/sup -12/m/sup 2/. However, exhaust ventilation leads to substantially higher indoor radon concentrations than infiltration or balanced ventilation with the same average air exchange rate when the soil permeability is 10/sup -10/m/sup 2/ or greater. For houses with a crawl-space, indoor radon concentrations are lowest with balanced ventilation, intermediate with exhaust ventilation, and highest with infiltration.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 6412760
• Report Number(s): LBL-23136; CONF-870853-4; ON: DE87009164
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500300* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
BUILDINGS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
HOUSES
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NONMETALS
PERMEABILITY
POLLUTION
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADON
RARE GASES
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SOILS
VENTILATION