Characterizing the occurrence, sources, and variability of radon in pacific northwest homes

Journal Article · Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.1990.10466705· OSTI ID:7101721

Turk, B H; Prill, R J; Grimsrud, D T; Moed, B A; Sextro, R G ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, CA (USA)

A compilation of data from earlier studies of 172 homes in the Pacific Northwest indicated that approximately 65 percent of the 46 homes tested in the Spokane River Valley/Rathdrum Prairie region of eastern Washington/northern Idaho had heating season indoor radon ({sup 222}Rn) concentrations above the U.S. EPA guideline of 148 Bq m{sup {minus}3} (4 pCi L{sup {minus}1}). A subset of 35 homes was selected for additional study. The primary source of indoor radon in the Spokane River Valley/Rathdrum Prairie was pressure-driven flow of soil gas containing moderate radon concentrations (geometric mean concentration of 16,000 Bq m{sup {minus}3}) from the highly permeable soils (geometric mean permeability of 5 {times} 10{sup {minus}11} m{sup 2}) surrounding the house substructures. Estimated soil gas entry rates ranged from 0.4 to 39 m{sup 3}h{sup {minus}1} and 1 percent to 21 percent of total building air infiltration. Radon from other sources, including domestic water supplies and building materials was negligible. In high radon homes, winter indoor levels averaged 13 times higher than summer concentrations, while in low radon homes winter levels averaged only 2.5 times higher. Short-term variations in indoor radon were observed to be dependent upon indoor-outdoor temperature differences, wind speed, and operation of forced-air furnace fans. Forced-air furnace operations, along with leaky return ducts and plenums, and openings between the substructure and upper floors enhanced mixing of radon laden substructure air throughout the rest of the building.

• OSTI ID: 7101721
• Journal Information: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA), Vol. 40:4; ISSN 1047-3289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
HOUSES
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADON 222
POLLUTION SOURCES
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION X
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
SOILS
AIR POLLUTION
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BUILDINGS
DATA
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
POLLUTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON ISOTOPES
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
USA
540130* - Environment
Atmospheric- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
540230 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)