Mitigation of Elevated Indoor Radon Gas Resulting from Underground Air Return Usage

Kearfott, Kimberlee J.; Metzger, Robert; Kraft, K. R.; Holbert, Keith E.

doi:10.1097/00004032-199212000-00008

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] However, the radon variations arising from the meteorological conditions are likely to exceed those due to the differences in the buildings' characteristics, 17 except when unusual building construction or ventilation practices may be present. 23,24 The temporal variations of indoor radon concentrations depend upon the environmental parameters, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and rainfall. 25 Prior research results indicate that indoor radon concentrations may correlate with indoor-outdoor temperature differences, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation or other environmental factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A study of diurnal and short-term variations of indoor radon concentrations at the University of Michigan, USA and their correlations with environmental factors

Xie

Liao

Wang

et al. 2016

Indoor and Built Environment

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Measurements of indoor radon concentrations and environmental parameters were collected continuously on an hourly basis over a three-month period (April 2012 to June 2012). These were performed both in a well-ventilated ground floor laboratory and in the unventilated basement directly below it in a two-storey building at the University of Michigan, USA. The diurnal variations of indoor radon concentration were investigated along with their correlations to the environmental parameters. The results showed that in the laboratory with typical air exchange, the highest radon values appeared in the early morning while lower values emerged in the afternoon. A similar time-course was followed by radon concentrations in the basement with stagnant air. The day-average radon concentrations in the laboratory ranged from 27 AE 2 Bq m À3 to 54 AE 5 Bq m À3 , with the overall mean of 37 AE 6 Bq m À3 over the three-month data collection period. The overall basement average, 900 AE 92 Bq m À3 is significantly higher than the population-weighted world average value of 39 Bq m À3. For the ground-level laboratory, the indoor humidity, outdoor temperature and indoor-outdoor temperature difference were positively correlated with indoor radon. The indoor radon negatively correlated with outdoor barometric pressure, wind speed and indoor-outdoor barometric pressure differences. However, for the unventilated basement, the only statistically significant correlation of indoor radon concentration was a positive one with hourly rainfall.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12–22 However, the radon variations arising from the meteorological conditions are likely to exceed those due to the differences in the buildings’ characteristics, 17 except when unusual building construction or ventilation practices may be present. 23,24…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study of diurnal and short-term variations of indoor radon concentrations at the University of Michigan, USA and their correlations with environmental factors

Xie

Liao

Wang

et al. 2016

Indoor and Built Environment

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“…where arrangements relating to the cooling of homes have even resulted in markedly elevated radon levels (Kearfott et al, 1992a;Kearfott et al, 1992b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of environmental factors on indoor radon concentration levels in the basement and ground floor of a building – A case study

Xie

Liao

Kearfott

2015

Radiation Measurements

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A series of experiments was conducted to measure indoor radon concentrations variations and observe any correlations with indoor and outdoor atmospheric parameters for over a period of one year. Indoor environmental parameters and radon concentrations were measured on an hourly basis in a two-story building both in a laboratory on the well-ventilated ground floor and in the basement below it which had negligible ventilation. The monthly average indoor radon concentration value of 29±21 Bq m-3 in the laboratory was below the ICRP recommended limit of 200-300 Bq m-3. The monthly normalization factor for that location ranged from 0.5 to 2.0, while the seasonal normalization factor ranged from 0.78 to 2.0. In the unventilated basement, however, the average monthly indoor radon concentration was 1,083±6 Bq m-3 with little seasonal variation. The basement is only used for storage and thus the elevated radon concentration does not pose a serious health risk. The results indicated that indoor radon levels are higher in the autumn-winter season than in the spring-summer season. Analysis further showed that indoor radon concentrations negatively correlated with indoor humidity (correlation coefficient R=-0.14, p<0.01), outdoor temperature (correlation coefficient R=-0.3, p<0.01), outdoor dew point temperature (correlation coefficient R=-0.17, p<0.01) and outdoor wind speeds (correlation coefficient R=-0.25, p<0.05). Radon concentrations correlated positively with outdoor barometric pressure (correlation coefficient R=0.35, p<0.01), indoor-outdoor temperature difference (correlation coefficient R=0.32, p<0.05) and indoor-outdoor barometric pressure difference (correlation coefficient R=0.67, p<0.01). Indoor temperature，indoor barometric pressure and outdoor wind direction showed no clear correlations with indoor radon concentration.

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“…With reported residential radon gas concentrations as high as 410,000 Bq m Ϫ3 (Kearfott 1989) and increasingly popular energy-efficient home construction techniques, such as underground air returns that may lead to enhanced concentrations (Kearfott et al 1992a(Kearfott et al , 1992b, radon gas concentrations should continue to be of public health concern. Inexpensive, short-term methods of screening for radon gas thus remain highly relevant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of an Equilibrium-Based Model for Diffusion Barrier Charcoal Canisters in a Small Volume Non-Steady State Radon Chamber

2011

Self Cite

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Radon in indoor air is often measured using activated charcoal in canisters. These are generally calibrated using large, humidity- and temperature-controlled radon chambers capable of maintaining a constant radon concentration over several days. Reliable and reproducible chambers are expensive and may be difficult to create and maintain. This study characterizes a small radon chamber in which Rn gas is allowed to build up over a period of several days for use in charcoal canister calibration and educational demonstrations, as well as various radon experiments using charcoal canisters. Predictive models have been developed that accurately describe radon gas kinetics in the charcoal canisters. Three models are available for kinetics in the small chamber with and without radon-adsorbing charcoal canisters. Presented here are both theoretical and semi-empirical applications of this equilibrium-based model of radon adsorption as applied to canisters in the small chamber. Several charcoal canister experiments in the small chamber with an equilibrium-based model of radon adsorption applied are reported. Results show that it is necessary to include a continuous radon monitor in the chamber during canister exposures, as the radon removal rate is highly variable. Furthermore, the presence of the canisters significantly decreases the amount of radon in the small chamber, especially when several canisters are present. It was found that canister response in the small chamber is largely consistent with the equilibrium-based model for both applications, with average errors of 1% for the theoretical application and -4% for the semi-empirical approach.

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Mitigation of Elevated Indoor Radon Gas Resulting from Underground Air Return Usage

Cited by 11 publications

References 2 publications

A study of diurnal and short-term variations of indoor radon concentrations at the University of Michigan, USA and their correlations with environmental factors

A study of diurnal and short-term variations of indoor radon concentrations at the University of Michigan, USA and their correlations with environmental factors

Influence of environmental factors on indoor radon concentration levels in the basement and ground floor of a building – A case study

Application of an Equilibrium-Based Model for Diffusion Barrier Charcoal Canisters in a Small Volume Non-Steady State Radon Chamber

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