An investigation of factors affecting the entry of radon into structures on the island of Guam

Abstract

Factors affecting the entry of 222Rn gas into structures on the Island of Guam were investigated during the summer of 1993. Research findings indicated that radon transport into buildings on Guam, and perhaps in other tropical areas, is driven by sub-grade soil pressure (positive with respect to atmospheric pressure) rather than interior buildings vacuums. Immediate and substantive increases in indoor radon concentrations were associated with environmental effects of wind and rain. Radon entry, and, hence, indoor radon concentrations, are significantly greater during the rainy season as opposed to the dry season. In the absence of mechanically induced interior vacuums in buildings, external environmental forces creating sub-slab pressures are the predominant factor in affecting radon entry in Guam. Indoor radon potentials can be correlated to the locations where the underlying geology is limestone. Furthermore, the radon source appears to be within the first few feet of the surface of these limestones rather than uniformly distributed throughout the limestone. The effects of seismic activity on radon entry are short-lived unless significant damage occurs to a structure. Radon entry during calm weather conditions may also be a function of the rising and falling of ocean tides.