Radon is a radioactive noble gas with limited uses, including in cancer treatment. It is found in the earth’s crust and can seep into buildings, causing lung cancer. Testing for radon is cheap and simple, and the Environmental Protection Agency recommends it for everyone.
Radon is a metallic element with atomic number 86 and symbol Rn. On the periodic table of elements, it is found in Group 18 and Period 6 to the right of astatine. Radon is one of the noble gases, also called inert gases, together with helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon. Its name comes from a variation on another element, radium.
Radon, formerly called thoron, is highly radioactive, with a short half-life. It has twenty known isotopes, only three of which are found in nature, and various isotopes have been discovered by different scientists. Although Ernest Rutherford discovered Radon-220, Friedrich Ernst Dorn’s discovery of radon-222 in Halle, Germany in 1900 is considered by some to be his official discovery. Dorn called it radium emanation, and that name, as well as the symbol Em, is used occasionally.
Radon has a limited number of uses. It is, for example, used as a neutron source and has a role in earthquake prediction. But the primary use of radon is in the treatment of radiation therapy for cancer. This is ironic, because radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, as well as causing lung tissue damage that can progress to pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema.
How are people exposed to radon? Found in the earth’s crust around the world, and especially in all fifty of the United States, radon seeps into buildings, especially those built on granite. Entry routes include through the water supply, through openings surrounding sump pumps and drains, through gaps and cracks in foundations, floors and walls, and through construction joints, among others. Developments in building techniques help keep radon out of new-build homes and are easier and cheaper to employ than the alternative of mitigating radon after it enters a home.
Estimates say that nearly 1 in 15 homes in the United States has radon levels higher than recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. Unfortunately, regional and local tests, even on neighboring houses, do not reveal a building’s risk, but on the other hand, radon tests for buildings are cheap and simple, and the Environmental Protection Agency recommends that everyone to lead or to have him lead.
Short-term and long-term tests are available, with short-term tests lasting from 2 to 90 days and long-term tests taking longer. Testing can be done by the homeowner or a qualified tester can be hired. The Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of qualified testers.
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