Are my volcanic rocks giving off Radon gas?

[MitchT]

March 2016 I went to Iceland. I brought back some volcanic rocks - four, each about the size of a tennis ball - and put them on display in a bowl. My OH's latest fixation is Radon and she's convinced that my volcanic rocks are going to kill us. Is she right?

[Cliftonite]

^^^^ Dead man walking. Everybody in Iceland is similarly doomed. If, indeed they are still alive.

Sorry to be the one to tell you.

[MitchT]

Thought as much. Explains why I've been feeling a bit dead lately!

[Blown2CV]

get a geiger counter off ebay if you're stting yourself. Have you looked into the half-life and penetration of the radioactivity given off by Radon gas, to see if it's even something to be concerned about?

[MitchT]

It's the OH's latest thing. Radon gas is everywhere, to some extent, and she's latched onto this and decided to worry about it. I'm not bothered but I'd like the earache to stop and not to be made to throw my rocks away!

[eldar]

Blown2CV said:

get a geiger counter off ebay if you're stting yourself. Have you looked into the half-life and penetration of the radioactivity given off by Radon gas, to see if it's even something to be concerned about?

Radon is beta, won't get through a sheet of paper or your skin. Which is bad news if you eat or inhale some. Which is extremely unlikely from a few chunks of solidified lava.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon

[CraigyMc]

MitchT said:

It's the OH's latest thing. Radon gas is everywhere, to some extent, and she's latched onto this and decided to worry about it. I'm not bothered but I'd like the earache to stop and not to be made to throw my rocks away!

Perhaps explain to her that anyone living near granite would be dead if the levels were a problem?

She sounds mental.

[battered]

Granite etc break down by radioactive decay to form radon. If you are in the area, you will Inhale it. It will then beta irradiate you. Bad news. The fix is to ventilate areas where there are large quantities of rock so the gas doesn't accumulate in houses. You are not going to generate any significant amount of radon from 4 bits of rock, unless it is uranium ore. Your house is adequately ventilated as it is. None of this will be of any help if your OH has a bee in her bonnet.

[Yipper]

Get a home radon test kit and measure it. That is the only way to settle the debate. Costs about 50 squid (tank of petrol) for peace of mind.

http://www.ukradon.org/services/orderdomestic

[pureguilt]

Is she fit? Otherwise get rid

[Ahbefive]

OP's Mrs is the mental. She best be fit.

[MitchT]

Yipper said:

Get a home radon test kit and measure it. That is the only way to settle the debate.

She's already ordered one for the house!

Yipper said:

Costs about 50 squid (tank of petrol) for peace of mind.

50 quid for a tank of petrol! Where?

pureguilt said:

Is she fit? Otherwise get rid

Yes, very ... and no, I'm not posting pics!

[pureguilt]

Cool, get some earplugs then😀

[Blown2CV]

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ASBESTOS???

[Lynchie999]

being a former Geology grad. ... I should no longer be here... (i remember pulling strands off "asbestos" rock, handling bright green "radio active" rocks etc... )

put it into perspective... all the granite down in the west-country only makes the Radon levels very very fractional higher than non granite areas... still no harm though!

[LordLoveLength]

Lynchie999 said:

all the granite down in the west-country only makes the Radon levels very very fractional higher than non granite areas... still no harm though!

So why are the locals the way they are then?

[CraigyMc]

LordLoveLength said:

Lynchie999 said:

all the granite down in the west-country only makes the Radon levels very very fractional higher than non granite areas... still no harm though!

So why are the locals the way they are then?

Also explains Aberdeen.

[Lynchie999]

LordLoveLength said:

Lynchie999 said:

all the granite down in the west-country only makes the Radon levels very very fractional higher than non granite areas... still no harm though!

So why are the locals the way they are then?

Pretty much!

[Simpo Two]

Is the rock granite? If so ask her if she has any problems going into a house with granite kitchen worktops.

This kind of half baked panic-over-nothing is increasingly common, fed by media scare stories, followed by the gullible and lack of scientific education.

Paint them in luminous paint and wait for the scream

[llewop]

eldar said:

Radon is beta, won't get through a sheet of paper or your skin. Which is bad news if you eat or inhale some. Which is extremely unlikely from a few chunks of solidified lava.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon

wrong! - it even says so in the link you provide.

Radon-222 emits alpha and is a gas, so you can inhale it and it then decay in your lungs. What it decays to is not a gas, so could stay there and continue to decay through several other daughters, emitting alpha, beta and gamma.

A more informative link would be:
http://www.ukradon.org/

for the OP - yes, your volcanic rocks could be radioactive and emitting radon: but I'd probably be more concerned by radiation levels than radon from presumably fairly small rocks. The reason for saying that is that the volume of rock isn't that likely to generate vast amounts of radon & you don't (I think) appear to live in a high radon area but radiation levels from some rocks are very much into the 'interesting' levels!