Hi,
I am interested in a 1.5-story house with a basement built in 1963. What are the safest ways to find out about gamma/radon emissions?
The pictures are from the basement. Does anyone know?
I am interested in a 1.5-story house with a basement built in 1963. What are the safest ways to find out about gamma/radon emissions?
The pictures are from the basement. Does anyone know?
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The first image looks like regular hard concrete. In the other images, it looks like blåbetong. However, not all blåbetong contains high levels of radon.
It is possible to investigate with a quick measurement. Blåbetong sometimes contains elevated levels of uranium. When uranium decays, gamma radiation is produced, which can be measured with good accuracy. One of the decay products is the gas radon. Radon itself decays, resulting in alpha radiation. If there is gamma radiation, you know that radon is being produced. Whether there are concerning levels of radon is uncertain, as the gas can dissipate through ventilation, etc. It is more challenging to measure radon levels with a short measurement.
If there is radon but no gamma radiation, you know the radon is seeping in from the ground. It is naturally produced in the bedrock and leaks into the house. Houses situated in areas with high underground radon levels often have much higher concentrations than those from blåbetong in houses.
It is possible to investigate with a quick measurement. Blåbetong sometimes contains elevated levels of uranium. When uranium decays, gamma radiation is produced, which can be measured with good accuracy. One of the decay products is the gas radon. Radon itself decays, resulting in alpha radiation. If there is gamma radiation, you know that radon is being produced. Whether there are concerning levels of radon is uncertain, as the gas can dissipate through ventilation, etc. It is more challenging to measure radon levels with a short measurement.
If there is radon but no gamma radiation, you know the radon is seeping in from the ground. It is naturally produced in the bedrock and leaks into the house. Houses situated in areas with high underground radon levels often have much higher concentrations than those from blåbetong in houses.
How & who did the gamma measurement?Y Yoshimel said:
I'm renovating a basement