Radon

__**Radon:**__ **Facts:**
 * Radon is a colorless gas, which is also odorless and tasteless.
 * Element category: Noble Gases.
 * Density: 9.73 g/L
 * Melting Point: −71.15 °C, −96.07 °F
 * Boiling Point: −61.85 °C, −79.1 °F
 * Radon is the decay of uranium or thorium
 * Radon is radioactive and is extremely dangerous.
 * Very common in houses and buildings, especially basement
 * Causes an average of 21000 deaths per year in America
 * Radon was discovered in 1898 by Fredrich Ernst Dorn
 * Second biggest cause of lung cancer
 * Secondary to smoking
 * How does it get into your house?
 * Moves into house through cracks and gaps in houses foundation
 * Can sometimes enter house through well water
 * Houses trap radon inside of them and as radon builds up, it becomes very dangerous
 * All homes, old and new, are at risk. Recommended to test your home for radon

Epidemiological studies have shown a clear link between breathing high concentrations of radon and incidence of lung cancer.

__**Common uses of Radon**__ **Atomic Number:** 86 **Atomic Weight:** 222 **Melting Point:** 202 K (-71°C or -96°F) **Boiling Point:** 211.45 K (-61.7°C or -79.1°F) **Density:** 0.00973 grams per cubic centimeter **Phase at Room Temperature:** Gas **Element Classification:** Non-metal **Period Number:** 6 **Group Number:** 18 **Group Name:** Noble Gas Radioactive **What's in a name?** Named for the element Radium. **Say what?** Radon is pronounced as **RAY-don**. **History and Uses:** Radon was discovered by Friedrich Ernst Dorn, a German chemist, in 1900 while studying radium's decay chain. Originally named niton after the Latin word for shining, nitens, radon has been known as radon since 1923. Today, radon is still primarily obtained through the decay of radium. At normal room temperatures, radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas. The most common forms of radon decay through alpha decay. Alpha decay usually isn't considered to be a great radiological hazard since the alpha particles produced by the decay are easily stopped. However, since radon is a gas, it is easily inhaled and living tissue is directly exposed to the radiation. Although it has a relatively short half-life, radon decays into longer lived, solid, radioactive elements which can collect on dust particles and be inhaled as well. For these reasons, there is some concern as to the amount of radon present within homes. Radon seeps into houses as a result of the decay of radium, thorium or uranium ores underground and varies greatly from location to location. On average, the earth's atmosphere is 0.0000000000000000001% radon. When cooled to its solid state, radon glows yellow. The glow becomes orange-red as the temperature is lowered. Radon's most stable isotope, radon-222, has a half-life of about 3.8 days. It decays into polonium-218 through alpha decay. Small amounts of radon are sometimes used by hospitals to treat some forms of cancer. Radon fluoride (RnF) is the only confirmed compound of radon. **Estimated Crustal Abundance:** 4×10-13 milligrams per kilogram **Estimated Oceanic Abundance:** 6×10-16 milligrams per liter **Number of Stable Isotopes:** 0 (View all isotope data) **Ionization Energy:** 10.745 eV **Oxidation State:** 0

Radon is responsible for the majority of the public exposure to ionizing radiation. It is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background radiation dose, and is the most variable from location to location. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as attics and basements. It can also be found in some spring waters and hot springs.



Radon Seed Therapy
Doctors sometimes treat cancer by radiating it. High doses of radiation kill cells, including cancer cells. One problem with radiation therapy is that it often kills healthy tissue alongside cancerous tissue. Because of that, doctors have looked for ways to deliver doses of radiation locally to tumors to avoid radiating nearby healthy tissue. One way they do that is with radon seeds.

 A radon seed is a small tube of radon gas that doctors surgically implant into the middle of a tumor. The radiation energy from the radon focuses specifically on the cancerous cells, killing them. On occasion, radon seeds have caused secondary tumors to develop.