title: The use of computed radon entry rates to understand radon concentration in buildings.
abstract: The central role played by basement depressurization in drawing radon-contaminated soil gas into a structure has been demonstrated by calculating the radon entry rate from radon concentration and air infiltration measurements at different levels of basement depressurization in a single-family research house. The radon entry rate is found to be a linear function of basement depressurization in this house which indicates that the flow of soil gas into the structure is laminar. The radon entry rates calculated before and after using a mitigation procedure is shown to provide a better measure of the mitigation efficacy than the standard before and after mitigation radon measurements in a research house. In addition, an analysis of the possible flow characteristics of soil gas and uncontaminated air into a basement indicates that any attempt to predict long-term average radon exposure from short-term screening measurements will only be possible under severely restricted conditions.
authors.affiliation: Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton University, NJ 08544.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cavallo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gadsby
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D006798:Housing; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D011886:Radon