title: Effect of sorption barriers on the radon fluence rate from soil.
abstract: The fluence rate of radon from soil as affected by active sorption barriers [activated carbon (AC) and mordenite], soil moisture content, and temperature was measured over a period of 964 d. (To limit the level of radon in indoor environments, an active sorption barrier potentially could be mixed with soil placed adjacent to the substructures of buildings.) AC, mixed with the top layer of soil in columns, markedly reduced the fluence rate of radon from soil over the entire time of the experiment and at all moisture contents and temperatures examined. Mordenite, on the other hand, was not effective in decreasing the fluence rate. AC also has a relatively high sorption capacity for aqueous lead species. (Stable lead isotopes are end-products in the uranium and thorium decay series of which radon isotopes are members.) Thus, the long-term (decades) efficacy of AC in sorbing radon in a soil environment will not be compromised by the blocking of its sorption sites by lead.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: T B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Oscarson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cheslock
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D002606:Charcoal; D011886:Radon; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D016060:Sorption Detoxification
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; C048397:mordenite; D002606:Charcoal; D011886:Radon