Milton In South Florida Radon Gas

[Milton Felton Jr.]

Hello to all Inspectors,

This is my first posting. Radon gas is very important to the health of the very young( daycares) and the senior community( rehabs, ALFs). Public awareness of the second leading cause of lung cancer can HELP in decreasing this deathly disease. Please let me know of any community events in the South Florida areas and I will discuss the concerns to the public.
Thank you in advance.
God Bless.

[Scott Patterson]

Hello to all Inspectors,

This is my first posting. Radon gas is very important to the health of the very young( daycares) and the senior community( rehabs, ALFs). Public awareness of the second leading cause of lung cancer can HELP in decreasing this deathly disease. Please let me know of any community events in the South Florida areas and I will discuss the concerns to the public.
Thank you in advance.
God Bless.

Hi Milton,

I don't know how much interest you will find in FL. The state really does not have all that much of a problem with radon gas. This is an EPA map of the state. Florida | EPA Map of Radon Zones | Radon | Indoor Air Quality | Air | US EPA (http://www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap/florida.htm)

[Erby Crofutt]

Yeah, compare that to someplace like Iowa where EVERY county is a high potential.



Iowa | EPA Map of Radon Zones | Radon | Indoor Air Quality | Air | US EPA (http://www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap/iowa.htm)



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[Jerry Peck]

Milton,

There's not much radon in South Florida.

Broward County is listed as:
Zone 3 counties have a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L (yellow zones) - Low Potential

Miami-Dade Count is listed as:
Zone 2 counties have a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L (orange zones) - Moderate Potential

[Rick Hurst]

Nothing like promoting one's self to make a buck off of others.

[Terry Howell]

Someday the inspectors that quote the EPA "don't test for radon here map" without knowing the facts are going to get the socks sued off them.
Florida has very significant radon problems, and yes the EPA totaly missed it. One of the highest elevated levels in the state is on the 20th+ floor of a high rise building and there are documented outdoor radon levels that exceed 40 pCi/l at times.
If you really want to quote maps I suggest you go to the state website.
Terry

[John Arnold]

...Radon gas is very important to the health of the very young( daycares) and the senior community....

Why the "senior community"? How is radon gas especially important to the elderly, please?

[Scott Patterson]

Someday the inspectors that quote the EPA "don't test for radon here map" without knowing the facts are going to get the socks sued off them.
Florida has very significant radon problems, and yes the EPA totaly missed it. One of the highest elevated levels in the state is on the 20th+ floor of a high rise building and there are documented outdoor radon levels that exceed 40 pCi/l at times.
If you really want to quote maps I suggest you go to the state website.
Terry

Terry, can you cite a source for this. I would like to read up on it.

I don't see radon on the 20th floor being from a natural source, it was most likely in the concrete or other products used in the structure.

[Milton Felton Jr.]

Hi John,

Radon is a known human carcinogen(1-13).

Case-control studies consider information on smoking history, age,diet and mobility.
Radon studies show, low exposures over longer periods of time were associated with greater risk than high exposures of shorter duration (1-17).

[John Arnold]

...
Radon studies show, low exposures over longer periods of time were associated with greater risk than high exposures of shorter duration (1-17).

Hence my question. The elderly aren't likely to have exposures over longer periods of time, because they're what? - Elderly.

You said "Radon gas is very important to the health of the very young( daycares) and the senior community...."

What is it about the "senior community" that makes radon gas very important to it?

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Hi Milton –

There are no studies that support your argument. If you of just one, let me know.

In the meantime, you might want to read some of my discussions on this forum and elsewhere. The reality is that all of the valid epidemiological studies performed to date clearly demonstrate that as the radon levels increase, (at those kinds of concentrations seen in houses), the lung cancer risk goes DOWN, not up.

Also, to date, there is not one valid study that has been published that demonstrates that radon, at concentrations seen in residences, increase the risk of cancer by even the slightest degree.

Cheers!
Caoimhín P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
Forensic Industrial Hygiene (http://www.forensic-applications.com)

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

[Jerry Peck]

Someday the inspectors that quote the EPA "don't test for radon here map" without knowing the facts are going to get the socks sued off them.
Florida has very significant radon problems, and yes the EPA totaly missed it. One of the highest elevated levels in the state is on the 20th+ floor of a high rise building and there are documented outdoor radon levels that exceed 40 pCi/l at times.
If you really want to quote maps I suggest you go to the state website.
Terry


Terry,

Somebody (you) needs to put their thinking cap on and read what you posted.

I am aware of a building where there was a reading of 200+ pCi/l on the second floor, in the lobby of the second floor ... with the first floor reading only 2 pCi/l or maybe less.

Terry, now think of what could have caused that HIGHER READING on the SECOND FLOOR when the FIRST FLOOR was no problem ...

Hint: Something in the second floor lobby and not "from the ground beneath the building".

[Erby Crofutt]

Funny Stuff: Dade, Broward, & Palm Beach need Radon Resistance in Large Buildings but not single family homes.

Odd that!

Florida Large Building Radon Protection Map (http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/radon/lrgbmap.htm)

Large Building Radon Protection Map (http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/radon/resbmap.htm)

[Jerry Peck]

Funny Stuff: Dade, Broward, & Palm Beach need Radon Resistance in Large Buildings but not single family homes.

Odd that!


Possibly the amount of concrete in "large buildings"?

It's not the ground under the "large buildings", but what WAS 'in the ground' and NOW IS 'in the large buildings' - at least that is my gut feeling.

Many parts of the country build with steel girders, in South Florida and has spread to other parts of Florida is the reinforced concrete structure which consists of huge columns and slabs of reinforced concrete, much of them post tension (which has little to do with the radon problem other than allowing for the removal of much other steel reinforcing and allowing concrete to replace that in volume).

[Ted Menelly]

I am sorry. It is a well known fact that emmissions from old folks leave a residual radon signiture. It has something to do with the digestive track and prep H and KY combo. WHILE SLEEPING THE GAS BUILDS UP TO SUCH A STATE THAT THE SATURATION IN THE BUILDING SLOWLY RISES UP TO ABOUT THE 20TH FLOOR.

[Jerry Peck]

Ted,

You are, of course, referring to OPS (Old Person Smell) ... just do a Google search on it.

You will find believers and disbelievers.

[Ted Menelly]

Ted,

You are, of course, referring to OPS (Old Person Smell) ... just do a Google search on it.

You will find believers and disbelievers.


Of course I should have put the big :D on my post.

Just trying to counter the radon thing.

[Caoimhín P. Connell]

Gents –

Not OPS but... tying the “human emissions� and “radiation� thing together – here is a real event. I was once hired by a hospital to perform an odd study. The patients were receiving radioactive technetium therapy and my job was to calculate how long after the administration, the patient had to remain in seclusion so they wouldn’t irradiate bystanders.

Having completed my modeling, I had to measure their emissions in an elevator since that would be the locations where they stood the closest to other people.

Weird stuff. Tons of fun.

Cheers!
CaoimhÃ*n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist
Forensic Industrial Hygiene (http://www.forensic-applications.com)

(The opinions expressed here are exclusively my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect my professional opinion, opinion of my employer, agency, peers, or professional affiliates. The above post is for information only and does not reflect professional advice and is not intended to supercede the professional advice of others.)

AMDG

[Mike Truss Guy]

Yea, I thought radon came from the granite. Isn't Florida just a big floating sandbar? I would think methane would be a bigger problem.:confused: