Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that is formed from the decay of radium. It is the most dense gas known and has a half-life of 3.8 days. Radon is found anywhere there are radium deposits in the ground and can accumulate in buildings, posing a lung cancer risk to those inside. It was first discovered in 1900 and was responsible for many miner deaths in centuries past before its radioactive properties were understood, originally blamed on mythical dwarves. Up to 22,000 lung cancer deaths occur annually in the US due to radon exposure.

1. 86
Radon: The Silent Killer

2. Basic Info
 Colorless
 Odorless
 Atomic Number: 86
 Density: 9.73 g/cm3 at 20°C
 Melting Point: - 71 °C
 Boiling Point: - 62 °C
 Formed from the decay of Radium

3. Basic Info Cont.
More Fun Facts!
 Most dense gas known
 Half-life is 3.8 days
 Radon is produced from the decay of
Radium, so it is anywhere there is radium or a
radium deposit. And, radium deposits may be
anywhere.
 Radon may be in your house right now
 15,000 to 22,000 people die from Radon related
lung cancer each year in the US

4. Some Awesome History!
 First discovered in 1900 by Friedrich Ernst Dorn

5. More Awesome History!!
 Radon was responsible for thousands of deaths
before it even had a name.
 The first recorded incidents were in the Ore
Mountains (in present day Germany and
Czechoslovaki) in the 1500's.
 Originally termed “Mountain Sickness”, lung cancer
killed many of the miners in this area.
 The cancer is caused by breathing the radioactive
radon in the mines, but was originally attributed to
malicious sub-terranean dwarfs. (Why are the
dwarfs always the scapegoat?)

6. Uses Etc.
 Used in some spas, but this seems to be a
gimmick.
 Mostly Radon just causes cancer.
 When frozen, Radon glows with a bright
phosphorescence from its own
radioactivity, turning yellow through orange to
red as it is cooled further.

7. Sources
Lenntech. 2011. Radon.
<http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/rn.htm> Accessed
2011 Nov 12.
Robert K Lewis. 2006. A History of Radon.
<http://64.253.106.145/Pubs/Radon/HistoryOfRadon.pdf>
Accessed 2011 Nov 12.
Alachua County Health Department. Radon Awareness.
<http://radon.alachuacounty.us/> Accessed 2011 Nov 12
Cary Academy. History and Background Information of Radon.
<http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/gray_rushin/Student
Projects/ElementWebSites/radon/history.htm> Accessed 2011
Nov 12