What Is Radon?
Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas formed from the decay of radium (Ra with atomic number 88).
Radon has come to world wide attention as a very significant contaminant for indoor air quality. It is estimated that radon is the second most frequent cause lung cancer after smoking.
It occures naturally under the ground and it is emited in the atmosphere. In modern houses, built to be energy efficient, radon can get trapped and accumulate to levels far above of those found in outdoor air.
Radon is invisible, without odour or taste, and can only be detected using special detection kits. Most of the countries in the world have standards and guidelines for the level of radon concentration in indoor air.
Radon radioactivity is measured in becquerels (Bq). One becquerel corresponds to the transformation (disintegration) of one atomic nucleus per second. The concentration of radon in air is usually measured in Bq/m3 (number of transformations per second in a cubic meter) or in pCi/L (pico Curies per liter - decay rate of a gram of Radium). For water concentrations Bq/l (becquerel per liter) is used. To transform from one unit to the other use this formula: 1 pCi/L = 37 Bq/m3