Radon for Dummies (Seekyt Week 6)

Radon

Apparently, for a while the favored method of driving eyeballs to your freelance content (thereby increasing residual income) was to ask some ridiculous, preferably scary-sounding, question. We suppose that beats the current favorites, the "one simple trick" and "you'll never believe" click-bait we've all come to hate... Whatever the case, the question posed by today's dumbass, Seekyt's TeenageGeek, sure sounds scary: "Are you exposing yourself to Radiation in your sleep?" According to the Geek, the answer is (always) "Yes"; of course, since he (or perhaps she) is here to inform us about radon. Or perhaps we should say "misinform" us about radon...

Let's begin where TeenageGeek began, with the introduction:

"Think about it, the centre of the earth is a giant ball of radioactive elements. It can’t stay in there for ever and over time it will escape into your house."

Whoa, Geek: for one thing, the center (or centre, if you prefre) of the Earth isn't a ball of radioactive elements; Earth's center, or its "core," as geophysicists call it, is mostly nickel and iron, both of which are stable, non-radioactive elements. Even if the core were radioactive, there's no circulation between the core and the surface other than heat transfer. That's not to mention that any radiation wouldn't concentrate in one house, though we assume that's just youthful hyperbole. OK, next stupidity:

"The Earth emits radiation constantly though the dirt below your feet..."

Grounded in truth: the soil (scientists don't use the word "dirt," since it's too non-specific) may contain the occasional mineral grain with radioactive elements, though you're more likely to have exposure to radon via bedrock. Next kernel of truth wrapped in bullshit:

"You may have stone features in your house that contain Radon. The most common example of this is granite work-tops. Granite is formed deep underground from cooling magma. The same magma that has mixed with all the radioactive elements in the Earths core." There you go again with that "Earths [sic] core" bullshit. But never mind that: so-called "granite countertops" aren't necessarily granite, and many contain no uranium-bearing minerals at all. To continue, let's assume you've tested your house and you do have a radon problem. How do you mitigate it? Teenage says, Open windows from time to time. This should be done in any house not just a Radon filled one and is generally a good idea. Buy a Radon reduction kit, some can even lower the Radon levels by 99%!

The "open windows" suggestion is considered specious by anyone who knows anything about radon, and DIY radon remediation equipment requires far more skill than most ordinary homeowners possess to install. That's all well and good, since it's at the usual level of freelancer bullshit. Where TeenageGeek completely screws the pooch is in the last paragraph:

"Overall Radon radiation isn’t a huge thing to worry about in the majority of homes. Almost everything has some form of radiation and besides, you’ve made it this far."

You've made it this far? By which the Geek means "You don't have lung cancer (yet)"? And people wonder why the Antisocial Network hands out the Dumbass of the Day award to people like this...

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