Nero A V, Boegel M L, Hollowell C D et al.
Year:
1983
Bibliographic info:
Health Physics, August 1983, Vol 45, No 2, p401-405. 4 figs, 10 refs.

To elucidate any connection between high radon concentrations and low-infiltration houses, the 222Rn concentrations and infiltration rates have been measured concurrently in US houses. Three housing surveys have been undertaken: one in energy-efficient houses located throughout the US and twoin conventional houses in the San Francisco area and in Maryland. In each of the groups surveyed, no clear correlation was observed between 222Rn concentrations and infiltration rate, although each parameter varied over a wide range. Infiltration rates for the entire sample, numbering 98 houses, ranged between 0.02 and 1.6 air changes per hour, and 222Rn concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 27 pCi/l. It appears that the major cause of the observed differences in 222Rn concentration is variation from one house to another in the rate at which 222Rn enters houses from its sources.