How are you exposed to radon?

Answer 1

Listen up. There is something that you need to know from the get go: radon is radioactive. There are no stable isotopes of this inert gas. It decays by emission of an alpha particle. An alpha particle is a helium nucleus (two protons and two neutrons), and it comes out of the decay event like a shell from a battleship main gun. And it is pound for pound incredibly more destructive. Fortunately it does not travel very far in air, but it slams into stuff all the way along its path causing scattering events and releasing very dangerous amounts of ionizing radiation. This radiation is penetrating and does travels well in air. And it shreds the covalent bonds of organic molecules (the stuff that the human body is mostly made of) and causes tissue and genetic damage. "Radon is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking, and radon-induced lung cancer is thought to be the 6th leading cause of cancer death overall." (That from the Wikipedia article on radon.) It is dangerous stuff. Got it? You been warned, ait? Radon is an inert gas that is radioactive, and it decays by alpha emission into polonium, which is, itself, a radioactive daughter. Radon itself is the radioactive daughter of radium 226, and radium is naturally present in rocks - granites and shales. You remember radium. Marie Curie? Yeah, her. She died of aplasic anemia. Word on the street is that it was due entirely to exposure to radiation. Yes, these things are that nasty. Onward. Radon is also produced in nuclear reactors, but let's hope that it pretty much stays there. Scratch that. The half life of radon is about 3.8 days. It doesn't stick around long. Because radon is heavy (heavier than air), it can accumulate in low places (like the basements of houses and other structures). There are areas where it presents a dangerous health risk because of the local geology. Radon is present in air, but in smaller concentrations than in the rocks from which it comes. Ground water in certain areas (where the granites and shales are) will in general have higher concentrations than air because it comes in contact with the source. Because radon is inert, there are no slam dunk chemical thingies that one can do to produce it. Fortunately. If one was to liquify air collected from low places (those basements) in areas where the geology is (un)favorable, one could expect to be able to distill it. But it would take a whole lot of air. A whole lot. If one was willing to liquify huge quanties of "regular" air, one could produce a measurable quantity, but it would take massive amounts of energy to do this. It isn't easy to "obtain" an appreciable quantity of radon. And the hazzards it poses kick in with quantities far smaller than those one might wish to "obtain" for the purpose of,... study? (Why would someone want to "obtain" a sample of radon?) So there are some choices. As an aside, it is interesting that we have to use mechanical means rather than chemical ones to recover an element. But the inert gases are that way. There are a couple of other ways to "obtain" some radon, but without a radiation physics lab it is out of the question to attempt it. Before launching on a quest to "obtain" radon, read the link on David Hahn at Wikipedia. This guy is a "research physicist" and the stuff he's done is nothing short of frightening. Let's upgrade that to terrifying. The picture of him in the article is a recent one - a mug shot - and it says something about the effects of his "experiments" on his body. Read this article top to bottom, and do a quick search of the web for an additional paragraph or two. As for the rest of us, we need to get with the program here, but let's divert a bit for a moment. Curiosity makes good science. We learn from experiments. But there are things better left until after one has climbed up onto the shoulders of some of those who have already done some experiments. The view from up there is a little different. Let's back up a touch. If one does some original work (work which is not a copy of someone else's but comes from one's own ideas), that work is valid. Just because someone else has already done it (the work), if it's original, is one's own, it is a shining light and a tribute to good original thinking. It's a gold star. Put another way, if one knows absolutely nothing about the wheel and "invents" it, that's original work. It makes absolutely no difference to the individual doing the work that someone else already did it, okay? It's the result of original thinking and is laudable. Congratulations are in order. You get your props. That said, stand on the shoulders of someone who has already done the work, the radon work. It's dangerous. Use the links, and remember to read about "Doctor" Hahn first. Again, you been warned, ait? As a p.s., it is a known fact that determined people who are making inquiries to satisfy their own curiosity are going to get the information where ever it may be and by whatever means necessary. David Hahn is a prime example. The information here is supplied with the idea that in getting answers in this place, a curious person will also get a good idea of the down side to pursuing a line of investigation. The down side here is that one can end up with radiation poisoning if one pursues methods to "obtain" radon. (And others may be exposed.) The radiation poisoning may not kill for some time, as with Marie Curie. But a foolish investigator will end up a dead man walking. David Hahn is just such a man. Those in the know are beginning to watch for his obituary.

Answer 2

You are exposed to radon in the air that you breathe and you can also be exposed to radon in the water you consume. Radon enters the air from the decay of naturally occurring radium (a member of the uranium decay chain) in soil, rocks, and building materials. When radon enters the air in an enclosed space such as a cave, mine, or building, it can become much more concentrated than in the outside air. Radon from soil and rocks also enters groundwater, which many people use from wells. Exposure from radon in water can either be directly from the consumption of water, or it can be released from the water when the water is agitated or heated as in showering or cooking, in which case that radon would now be in the air.

Answer 3

Radon is a radioactive natural gas.