Radon
 

EPA Publications on Indoor Radon - Complete publications list, descriptions and links. Informative EPA Guides for citizens, consumers, home buyers and sellers, physicians, and tenants. Radon prevention in construction, schools. Measurement protocols. Links to regional Radon Offices.

Health Effects of Exposure to Indoor Radon (BEIR VI Report) - The National Academy of Sciences comprehensive report (1998) on the health efects of radon in homes. A detailed risk model for the US population. Explains how radon causes lung cancer and estimates that in the U.S. it causes 15,400 - 21,800 lung cancer deaths each year.

How Stuff Works: Radon - Informative article about how radon forms and why it is so dangerous. Comparison of radon test devices. Useful links.

Integrated Environmental Management - Informative primer on radon, its progeny, measurement and risks. Extensive information on radioactivity and radiation, exposure and risks.

Natural Radioactivity - The Radiation Information Network (Idaho State U). Primordial, cosmogenic and man-made radiation sources. Radon accounts for 56% of the total effective dose to people in the US. Radioactivity in soil, building materials, and human bodies.

Radon - The Invisible Intruder - Report from the Office of New York State Attorney General (1996) on the dangers of radon, testing, tips on reducing radon and selecting a contractor.

Radon Progeny - A chart listing all of the decay products of radon gas in their order of appearance. Atomic mass, atomic numbers and the energy in MeV of the released alpha radiation.

Radon Project of Columbia University and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. - Uses information about location of home, and house construction, to suggest whether or not to test for radon.

Residential Radon and Lung Cancer Study - The latest and most substantial study ever on the link between radon and lung cancer (May, 2000) proves that residential radon causes cancer even at the low levels in homes. At the EPA's 4 pCi/L action limit, the lung cancer risk to women increases by 50%.

Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water - The National Academy of Sciences report (1999) compares the risks of radon in air and water. Full report can be read online, or purchased.

UIC - Radiation and Life - Illustrated primer on radiation all around us. Origins and types of radiation. Ionising, cosmic, background and man-made radiation. Radon contributes 48% of the radiation dose to people in Australia. Uranium Information Center, 1998.

Uranium 238 Decay Chain - Short primer on U238 decay through radon to stable lead, radioactive half times of elements. Chart of the decay chain with half times and alpha or beta radiation.

Uranium - The Deadliest Metal - A detailed paper on uranium, its radioactive products, mining, and radiation risks to people issued by the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility (1992). The health risks even at the low radon levels in homes.

USGS Radon Information - U.S. Geological Survey site on radon in earth, air and water. Site resources include educational information on radon, and multiple maps on the geologic and geographic occurrence of radon in the United States.

Virtual Hospital: Radon Occurence and Health Risk - Comprehensive article on radon. Radon progeny, the decay chain and radiation. Lung cancer risks. Occupational and residential limits. Geographic radon potential. Waterborne radon. (June 1999)

Western Regional Radon Training Center - Provides certification and continuing education classes that meet National Radon Proficiency Program. Located in Colorado Springs, CO.