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DEVELOPMENT OF A RADON PROTECTION MAP FOR LARGE BUILDINGS IN FLORIDA
Citation:
Nielson, K., R. Holt, AND V. Rogers. DEVELOPMENT OF A RADON PROTECTION MAP FOR LARGE BUILDINGS IN FLORIDA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-96/028 (NTIS PB96-168216), 1996.
Impact/Purpose:
inform
Description:
The report discusses the development of a radon protection map to show from soil and geological features the areas of Florida that require different levels of Radon protection for large building construction. The map was proposed as a basis for implementing radon-protective construction standards in areas of high radon risk and avoiding unnecessary regulations in areas of low radon risk. The map utilized 3,919 geographic regions defined by digital intersection of soil maps with surface geology maps. Regional radon distributions were modeled from radon source and transport properties. Aeroradiometric measurements from the National Uranium Resource Evaluation program were digitally overlaid on the map regions to estimate surface radium concentrations. Confidence limits for the regional radon distributions were calculated from variations in the regional radon source and transport properties. Separate model analyses estimated the effectiveness of different building construction features in reducing radon entry. The map was compared with over 275,000 measurements in 20,156 large buildings. A statewide bias of only -0.004+/- 1.067 standard deviations suggests excellent average agreement. Observations of 306 buildings with the greatest bias shown that, with crawl spaces, 89% measured low and only 11% measured high.