31–40 of 170 posts
Florida is about to build some test roads using phosphogypsum, a radioactive waste product of the fertilizer industry that has been piling up and they want to unload. It contains high quantities of radium which decays into radon, this should end well. > "Phosphogypsum contains appreciable quantities of uranium and its decay products, such as radium-226," according to the EPA. And because the fertilizer production pro…
"Clothes dryers are very effective at making statically charged surfaces. (Dryer sheets help.) So when radon and its temporary decay products are blown through the dryer, electrically-polarized molecules tend to be attracted to the charged surfaces"
What that commenter misses is that nearly all hobbyist grade detectors (Geiger tubes) are not sensitive to alpha but they are highly sensitive to beta and a little sensitivity to gamma. However, any thin solid will block beta, so they would need the Geiger tube to be very near the radiation emitting material to pick up the beta. In other words, if they're just waving the detector around they're probably just catching the gamma.
The radon in the air decays into various progeny, and by the time it reaches the dryer that will be to some extent in equilibrium, so several isotopes, including gamma emitters, will be present in the mix. Therefore I'm not surprised the detector reads a tiny bit of that.
Why it dissipates is probably not a decay thing but rather the accumulated material gradually diffusing away from the filter or whatever after the dryer is turned off and no longer actively accumulating radon.
This could be tested by putting a detector right next to the filter to see how much beta it picks up. I've basically done that with a home air filter:
https://twitter.com/BetterGeiger/status/1605639346865901570?...
That's with the detector I make and sell which is primarily sensitive to gamma, which is why I could register a reading through the plastic container, even a couple days after preparing the test. When I used a pancake style detector sensitive to alpha and beta, directly against the exposed filter, the detector reacted much more strongly... But the Better Geiger S-1 gives an accurate dose reading, the Geiger tube or pancake probe will dramatically overestimate dose in that scenario, which can cause undue concern... In reality it's pretty harmless levels of radiation. :)
I think the core of the explanation given is correct but some of the adjacent details need adjustment. The important part is: "Clothes dryers are very effective at making statically charged surfaces. (Dryer sheets help.) So when radon and its temporary decay products are blown through the dryer, electrically-polarized molecules tend to be attracted to the charged surfaces" What that commenter misses is that nearly al…
We had this issue in the Midwest (central Illinois). Can’t remember exactly why, but radon would accumulate in the basements. Had to have sensors and ventilation for it.
Poured slabs are less permeable, not a low point, and tend to have better ventilation either intentionally or unintentionally.
Related: HNer recommendations for home geiger counters? (serious request - for general fun/experimentation/curiosity satiation)
I really like my https://www.bettergeiger.com/ (no affiliation with them, I just own one and am happy with it) It uses a solid-state scintillator instead of the older and less sensitive Geiger-Müller tube.
/s
We had this issue in the Midwest (central Illinois). Can’t remember exactly why, but radon would accumulate in the basements. Had to have sensors and ventilation for it.
It can be an issue everywhere, Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking.
I haven't read much on physics before. My favourite thing to do on these stack overflow sites (or on specific tags) is to go to Questions -> sort by score, and just read through the top questions and answers. It's a bit hidden away because they want to steer people to the active questions, not to established ones.
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/121830/does-eart... There is no tidal bulge
We had this issue in the Midwest (central Illinois). Can’t remember exactly why, but radon would accumulate in the basements. Had to have sensors and ventilation for it.
It can be an issue everywhere, Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking.
In the south, Radon "can" be an issue, but it simply isn't an issue. In New England, it is often an issue.