Login
or
Register
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Home
»
Model Railroader
»
Forums
»
General Discussion (Model Railroader)
»
basement layouts and radon
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote]QUOTE: Radon is an element that is the byproduct of the radioactive decay of Uranium and other naturally-occurring elements. It's not a chemical. It too is radioactive, and has a fairly short half-life[/quote] <br /> <br />True, except it meets any definition of being a chemcial that I know of (extreme nit-picking here - sorry). It is element No. 86 and has a halflife of about 3.8 days. It decays by emitting an alpha particle and becomes another element. This new element then decays be emitting another alpha particle and becomes a third element and so on for about (if I recall correctly) eight or so steps until it becomes a stable atom of lead, I believe. The alpha particles are a form of radiation. The way I understand it, this radiation may mutate the DNA in the lung cells, and if they are changed in a certain way, they may reproduce into a cancerous tumor. <br /> <br />The link to the EPA web site for radon given in a previous post is a good one to look at. <br /> <br />Many years ago I measured the radon in my basement and found it to be 6 to 8 pico curies/liter. The recommended maximum is 4. I had an open sump in the nasement floor. I built an air-tight box around the sump and put a 2 in. PVC pipe from the box through the basement wall to the outside to ventilate the box. A wall or two in the basement was just bare concrete blocks. I painted these with a watrerproof paint hoping to seal any pores. After doing these things, the measured radon level was 2 or less. So, at least sometimes, it is not very difficult to correct the problem. <br /> <br />Radon levels may vary day to day or week to week or even with weather conditions (barometric pressure changes). If you are going to want to measure your radon level, it may be wise to do several tests at various conditions. <br /> <br />I think radon can be a serious problem and it may be wise to check its level in one's house.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Users Online
There are no community member online
Search the Community
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter
See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter
and get model railroad news in your inbox!
Sign up