radon

radon (Rn), chemical element, a heavy radioactive gas of Group 18 (noble gases) of the periodic table, generated by the radioactive decay of radium. (Radon was originally called radium emanation.) Radon is a colorless gas, 7.5 times heavier than air and more than 100 times heavier than hydrogen. The gas liquefies at −61.8 °C (−79.2 °F) and freezes at −71 °C (−96 °F). On further cooling, solid radon glows with a soft yellow light that becomes orange-red at the temperature of liquid air (−195 °C [−319 °F]).

Radon is rare in nature because its isotopes are all short-lived and because its source, radium, is a scarce element. The atmosphere contains traces of radon near the ground as a result of seepage from soil and rocks, both of which contain minute quantities of radium. (Radium occurs as a natural decay product of uranium present in various types of rocks.)

By the late 1980s, naturally occurring radon gas had come to be recognized as a potentially serious health hazard. Radioactive decay of uranium in minerals, especially granite, generates radon gas that can diffuse through soil and rock and enter buildings through basements (radon has a higher density than air) and through water supplies derived from wells (radon has a significant solubility in water). The gas can accumulate in the air of poorly ventilated houses. The decay of radon produces radioactive “daughters” (polonium, bismuth, and lead isotopes) that can be ingested from well water or can be absorbed in dust particles and then breathed into the lungs. Exposure to high concentrations of this radon and its daughters over the course of many years can greatly increase the risk of developing lung cancer. Indeed, radon is now thought to be the greatest cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers in the United States. Radon levels are highest in homes built over geological formations that contain uranium mineral deposits.

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Concentrated samples of radon are prepared synthetically for medical and research purposes. Typically, a supply of radium is kept in a glass vessel in an aqueous solution or in the form of a porous solid from which the radon can readily flow. Every few days, the accumulated radon is pumped off, purified, and compressed into a small tube, which is then sealed and removed. The tube of gas is a source of penetrating gamma rays, which come mainly from one of radon’s decay products, bismuth-214. Such tubes of radon have been used for radiation therapy and radiography.

Natural radon consists of three isotopes, one from each of the three natural radioactive-disintegration series (the uranium, thorium, and actinium series). Discovered in 1900 by German chemist Friedrich E. Dorn, radon-222 (3.823-day half-life), the longest-lived isotope, arises in the uranium series. The name radon is sometimes reserved for this isotope to distinguish it from the other two natural isotopes, called thoron and actinon, because they originate in the thorium and the actinium series, respectively.

Radon-220 (thoron; 51.5-second half-life) was first observed in 1899 by American scientist Robert B. Owens and British scientist Ernest Rutherford, who noticed that some of the radioactivity of thorium compounds could be blown away by breezes in the laboratory. Radon-219 (actinon; 3.92-second half-life), which is associated with actinium, was found independently in 1904 by German chemist Friedrich O. Giesel and French physicist André-Louis Debierne. Radioactive isotopes having masses ranging from 204 through 224 have been identified, the longest-lived of these being radon-222, which has a half-life of 3.82 days. All the isotopes decay into stable end-products of helium and isotopes of heavy metals, usually lead.

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Radon atoms possess a particularly stable electronic configuration of eight electrons in the outer shell, which accounts for the characteristic chemical inactivity of the element. Radon, however, is not chemically inert. For example, the existence of the compound radon difluoride, which is apparently more stable chemically than compounds of the other reactive noble gases, krypton and xenon, was established in 1962. Radon’s short lifetime and its high-energy radioactivity cause difficulties for the experimental investigation of radon compounds.

When a mixture of trace amounts of radon-222 and fluorine gas is heated to approximately 400 °C (752 °F), a nonvolatile radon fluoride is formed. The intense α-radiation of millicurie and curie amounts of radon provides sufficient energy to allow radon in such quantities to react spontaneously with gaseous fluorine at room temperature and with liquid fluorine at −196 °C (−321 °F). Radon is also oxidized by halogen fluorides such as ClF₃, BrF₃, BrF₅, IF₇, and [NiF₆]²⁻ in HF solutions to give stable solutions of radon fluoride. The products of these fluorination reactions have not been analyzed in detail because of their small masses and intense radioactivity. Nevertheless, by comparing reactions of radon with those of krypton and xenon it has been possible to deduce that radon forms a difluoride, RnF₂, and derivatives of the difluoride. Studies show that ionic radon is present in many of these solutions and is believed to be Rn²⁺, RnF⁺, and RnF₃⁻. The chemical behavior of radon is similar to that of a metal fluoride and is consistent with its position in the periodic table as a metalloid element.