Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am doing a science fair project where I am testing how effective mushrooms are at reducing excess radon from soil. What is a cost efficient way for me to continuously measure radon? I know I can use charcoal canisters but those are only for one time use and the other machines are not accessible to me. Any ideas?

Hello,

Perhaps another expert can also weigh in, but I'm only aware of a few different types of radon detection kits. The first is a ~3-day kit, and the other is a year-long kit that continuously measures radon levels over time. I'm assuming that you don't quite have a year to complete the project, so I'd recommend trying to stick with the short-term kits. What you could do are endpoint studies. In this setup, you could plant mushrooms for various time points (or whatever your variable is), and then after a pre-determined time from the start of the experiment, you could begin measuring radon levels using the short-term kits. You would only need one kit for each condition you are using. Do you know what kits you are potentially interested in using?

Let us know if we can help you further.

-Pharma

I plan on testing three different types of mushrooms and measuring the radon levels at the end of each month. I was looking at using charcoal canisters but together I would need at least 10 of them. This would not be cost efficient so I was wondering if you know of any reusable devices or places that would let me test the soil?

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Why do you think you would need 10 canisters? You could use one per group, and it looks like you will have 4 groups: one negative control and three experimental groups.

I am not aware of any other kits or places that would test the soil for you. What other groups or conditions are you using additional canisters for?

Best,
Pharma