This is a broad category covering everything from radon to granite countertops to NORM and TENORM. If your question relates to radiation in the environment, then select this category.
This video will teach you all about radon: what it is, where it comes from, and whether or not you should be concerned.
This video will teach you all about TENORM, or technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material.
The following health physics questions have been answered by an expert and approved by our editors for inclusion in our "Ask the Experts" feature. Click on the question to see the answer.
| Questions in this Category Are in the Following Subcategories: |
| • Building and Construction Material |
| • Granite and Stone Countertops |
| • General |
| • Water |
| • Airplanes |
| • Chemical Elements and Compounds |
| • Cosmic Radiation |
| • Measurements and Reporting |
| • Plants and Animals |
| • Radon |
| • Rocks, Minerals, and Mines |
| • Soil and Fallout |
| • Space Flight |
| • Weather |
| • Miscellaneous |
| |
| Building and Construction Material |
| Q7922 |
– |
Use of naturally radioactive tiles for home flooring |
| Q9011 |
– |
Radiation from flooring material |
| Q9574 |
– |
Dose from volcanic tuff in concrete |
| Q9778 |
– |
Radiation hazards from brick home |
| Q10233 |
– |
Radiation from ceramic floor tiles |
| Q11399 |
– |
Do natural building materials increase background radiation exposure? |
| Q12384 |
– |
Calculating radiation hazards from building materials |
| |
| Granite and Stone Countertops |
| Q3991 |
– |
Dose from granite |
| Q6969 |
– |
Health hazard from granite countertops |
| Q7746 |
– |
Measurements: Using a GM detector for granite countertops |
| Q7834 |
– |
Determining health hazards from granite countertops |
| Q7855 |
– |
Measurements: Interpreting GM detector results for granite countertops |
| Q8526 |
– |
Devices for measuring radiation of granite and stones. |
| Q9809 |
– |
Quartz countertop |
| Q12034 |
– |
GM measurements of granite countertop |
| Q12718 |
– |
Travertine, marble, and granite on bathroom and/or kitchen surfaces |
| |
| General |
| Q9438 |
– |
Convert ground concentrations to effective doses |
| Q10453 |
– |
What if there was no radiation? |
| Q12844 |
– |
Potential radiation risk from radioactivity in clays |
| |
| Water |
| Q8147 |
– |
Effect of radium in drinking water on children |
| Q8498 |
– |
Maximum contaminant level for Technetium-99 |
| Q9937 |
– |
Dose from radium-226 or radon-222 |
| Q10627 |
– |
Comparing radium and uranium levels in well water |
| Q10693 |
– |
Uranium in well water |
| Q11022 |
– |
Removing radionuclides from drinking water |
| Q11425 |
– |
Radioactive selenium collecting in reverse osmosis water purification system |
| Q11510 |
– |
Use of radioactivity in the environment |
| Q11601 |
– |
Limits for iodine-131 in water and soil |
| Q12022 |
– |
Radium in water |
| Q12705 |
– |
Removing radionuclides from water |
| |
| Airplanes |
| Q7221 |
– |
Solar storms/cosmic rays |
| Q8866 |
– |
Risks from flying cargo in a jet |
| Q9770 |
– |
Radiation exposure to infants and children from flying |
| Q9944 |
– |
Headaches from flying |
| Q10180 |
– |
Should we fly during solar flares? |
| Q10593 |
– |
Shielding from radiation on an airplane |
| Q11105 |
– |
Electrical grounding during flight to protect from cosmic radiation |
| Q11358 |
– |
Dosimeter for measuring in-flight dose |
| Q11418 |
– |
Radiation dose from frequent international flights |
| Q12391 |
– |
Will I get cancer from an airplane trip? |
| Q12510 |
– |
Risk to child from international flights |
| Q13060 |
– |
Radiation dose and safety during high altitude flight |
| |
| Chemical Elements and Compounds |
| Q7501 |
– |
Use of samarium powder |
| |
| Cosmic Radiation |
| Q7178 |
– |
Variations in cosmic radiation |
| Q10108 |
– |
How much radiation is produced by a super nova? |
| |
| Measurements and Reporting |
| Q10177 |
– |
Interpreting radiation-meter readings |
| Q10217 |
– |
Materials that affect background radiation measurements |
| Q10383 |
– |
Understanding background measurements from Bangalore, India |
| Q10406 |
– |
Gamma attenuation by soil moisture |
| Q10780 |
– |
Gamma attenuation by moisture in clay soils |
| Q10957 |
– |
Radionuclides for calibrating environmental dosimeters |
| Q11428 |
– |
Establishing background radiation levels |
| Q11980 |
– |
Negative values in low-activity environmental samples |
| Q12128 |
– |
Background radiation levels on island off Thailand |
| Q12471 |
– |
Discriminating beta radiation from gamma background radiation |
| Q12507 |
– |
Effects of climate on background reading |
| |
| Plants and Animals |
| Q8533 |
– |
Will gamma radiation affect crops? |
| Q11260 |
– |
Cesium-137 in elk |
| Q12570 |
– |
Can radium equivalent activity and internal hazard index be applied to plant samples? |
| Q12676 |
– |
Uranium in vegetable garden soil |
| |
| Radon |
| Q7498 |
– |
Less than 90 days on radon test |
| Q7499 |
– |
Testing for radon, radium, uranium |
| Q7554 |
– |
Is furniture affected by radon? |
| Q7853 |
– |
Accuracy of short-term radon detectors |
| Q9440 |
– |
Dose to plants from radon |
| Q9462 |
– |
Convert radon concentrations to working level |
| Q10041 |
– |
Radon vent pipe location |
| Q10155 |
– |
Test well water for radon and radium |
| Q10245 |
– |
How to calculate working level (WL) month |
| Q10295 |
– |
World War II gauge |
| Q10299 |
– |
Concerned about radon spikes |
| Q10375 |
– |
Radon in air and in water |
| Q11141 |
– |
Calculating risk from radon exposure |
| Q11692 |
– |
Purchasing a home with elevated radon levels |
| Q11737 |
– |
Who is right about radon hazards? |
| Q11833 |
– |
Effects of radon, radium, and uranium in well water |
| Q11963 |
– |
Calculating risk from radon |
| Q11973 |
– |
Radon units and conversion factors |
| Q12071 |
– |
Lung repair after radon exposure |
| Q12163 |
– |
Using a particulate mask to filter radon |
| Q12177 |
– |
Mapping radon throughout a city |
| Q12249 |
– |
Studies of radon health effects |
| Q12305 |
– |
Location of radon vent pipe |
| Q12725 |
– |
Radon on clothing stored in basement |
| Q12855 |
– |
Potential radiation risk from carbon filters |
| Q12932 |
– |
Variability of radon concentration over years |
| Q12988 |
– |
Potential indoor radon risk to the developing fetus |
| Q13127 |
– |
Dose from radon in charcoal filter |
| Q13424 |
– |
Basement radon levels and exercise |
| Q13502 |
– |
Is home made entirely of granite emitting dangerous radon levels? |
| Q13705 |
– |
Radon progeny in dust on cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs |
| Q13924 |
– |
Safety of radium dial compasses |
| Q15350 |
– |
Radon from geothermal heating |
| |
| Rocks, Minerals, and Mines |
| Q7943 |
– |
Converting uranium rock dose rate to activity |
| Q8362 |
– |
Irradiated gemstones |
| Q9107 |
– |
Risks from Marcellus Shale radiation |
| Q11031 |
– |
Does the Earth’s crust shield us from core radiation? |
| Q11474 |
– |
Dangers of living near uranium mine |
| Q11680 |
– |
Should I remove a uranite specimen from my house? |
| Q12051 |
– |
Uranium mill tailings in Lodève, France |
| Q12415 |
– |
Risks from trucks hauling uranium ore |
| Q12581 |
– |
Radiation risk from jewelry made of petrified wood |
| Q12846 |
– |
Potential radiation risk from use of irradiated gemstones |
| |
| Soil and Fallout |
| Q8040 |
– |
Fallout on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands |
| Q8457 |
– |
Fallout in Southwestern United States |
| Q8887 |
– |
Effects of exposure to background radiation in Utah |
| Q9057 |
– |
Measuring thorium and potassium levels in sand |
| Q9606 |
– |
Measuring natural radionuclides in soil |
| Q10051 |
– |
Effects of nuclear tests in the Montebello Islands |
| Q10804 |
– |
Fallout contamination on furniture from the Marshall Islands |
| Q10993 |
– |
Thyroid disease in prior residents of Marshall Islands |
| Q11287 |
– |
Residual radioactivity in Utah |
| Q11678 |
– |
Information about health effects from atmospheric nuclear testing |
| Q11730 |
– |
Could leather detector case be radioactive? |
| Q12601 |
– |
Is it safe to live in fallout-contaminated areas of the United States? |
| Q12658 |
– |
Can we detect fission products in my body from long ago? |
| Q14261 |
– |
Thyroid cancer risk from radioactive fallout |
| |
| Space Flight |
| Q8406 |
– |
Radiation protection in space |
| |
| Weather |
| Q10893 |
– |
Radiation from lightning |
| |
| Miscellaneous |
| Q11563 |
– |
Internet reports of increased background radiation |
| Q11784 |
– |
Interpreting background radiation readings posted on radiation network website |
| Q11800 |
– |
Worldwide background radiation levels |
| Q12631 |
– |
Is potassium-40, the natural radioactive component of potassium, dangerous? |
| Q13661 |
– |
Is my wooden jewelry box from Finland contaminated with fallout from Chernobyl? |
| Q13810 |
– |
Is there a radiation source in my apartment? |
