Radon is a naturally occurring gas that has caused a stir in homes where people live in constant fear. In a household setup, many people are not aware of the safety of this gas and the potential danger or harm that it can cause. There are many myths surrounding this topic hence the constant worry due to the lack of clarity about radon and the best way to deal with it. This has resulted in many people discarding items at home and involving companies to handle radon in fear of fatalities.
Many resources have been expended towards the elimination and management of radon levels in homes but has it been worth it or purely premised on paranoia and unsubstantiated claims and assertions?
This article shall delve deep and establish whether radon can indeed contaminate objects to establish the accuracy and veracity of this and eliminate the blurriness underlying this murky area.
Scientific Reasons
Radon is an inert naturally occurring gas as mentioned above. The scientific aspect of this is quite technical and complex but to make it comprehendible and palatable, radiation associated with radon does not emanate from radon itself but from its particles often referred to as progeny. The implication herein is that radon is inherently unable to react properly with other elements. To elucidate more on this, most of the radon gas that we inhale is automatically exhaled devoid of any harm to the lung tissues. The danger however subtle can only occur because of the radon progeny.
Radon Concentrations
The National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP 2009) provides for the average concentration of radon levels in US homes, which is deemed to be about 46.3Bq m-3. The question therefore lingers, do the concentration levels of radon in our homes have any consequential relation to its ability to contaminate objects? Simply put and predicated on the foregoing, radon itself has been proven relatively less harmful and the radiation harm that people often fear is the radon progeny as mentioned above.
Radon has physical atomic properties meaning that it decays and the resulting particles of the atoms upon delay are the ones that cause the radiation that pose some varying sorts of health risks. Experts in this area have mentioned that proper mitigation measures and sealing crawl spaces often ensure that the concentration levels of radon are within the stipulated levels.
This means that the progeny particulates, which involve harmful radiation are kept at a bare minimum hence eliminating any risk. Ultimately, the absence of these particulates would imply that the radon is unable to contaminate any objects hence the levels of interaction with other elements are limited. The ability to contaminate objects through the progeny particles due to its atomic properties is therefore curtailed forthwith.
Object Contamination
It is vital and imperative that this article furnishes a reasonable conclusion on this question after properly rendering a proper and logical explanation as depicted above. Radon is a noble gas and it is indeed true that it has the capability of contaminating objects through its progeny particles. However, the contamination is not usually any cause for alarm or concern. Radon readily diffuses into and out of any object without piling up. It is a well-established fact that no object, in particular, can have higher levels of radon than the amount prevalent in the air in the space in which such object is placed or present. Concisely, the inhalation of such air and handling of such an object have minimal variations with regard to the resulting danger in both circumstances. It is indeed possible for the harm to be considerably less when handling such an object than when inhaling it since the radon will be quickly eliminated from the object upon exposure of the same to some clean air or different environment.
Progeny and Its Dangers
As explained above, this refers to the particulates which radon decays into and they are the ones that settle on the objects in your home. These particulates have a very limited lifespan and exposure or removal of the objects from the radon environment culminates into the decay of the radon particles into a lead and it is relatively not harmful in this state due to minimal risk associated with these radiation levels. The decay into lead could scare many people but the truth is that the radon levels in such circumstances are usually quite low thus alleviating any concerns of object contamination.
The only risk however subtle could be in relation to edibles but it is also never a cause for alarm. This article has answered this question with brevity and precision thus you ought to be duly guided on the dangers of radon and its ability to contaminate surrounding objects.
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