Daily variations of indoor air-ion and radon concentrations

Air-ions and radon are two atmospheric trace constituents which have two opposite effects on human health: the ions are beneficial, and radon gas is potentially lethal as it increases the risk of lung cancer. In the lower troposphere, radon is the most important generator of the air-ions. Ionization by cosmic rays and radioactive minerals is almost constant in daily cycles, and variation of air-ion concentrations is attributed to changes of the radon activity.Air-ion and radon concentrations in outdoor and indoor space and their vertical gradients in residential buildings were measured. Gerdien type air-ion detector “CDI-06” made in our laboratory and radon monitor “RAD7” were utilized for these measurements. Correlation coefficient between positive air-ion and Rn indoor concentrations was approximately 0.7. Outdoor and indoor peak values were simultaneous while vertical gradient of concentrations in indoor measurements was evident. The indoor experiments showed that positive air-ion concentration could be an alternative method of radon activity concentration evaluation.