Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

What are some current methods to reduce excess radon in soil? If there is none, what are some testable methods to do so?

Hi spike3029,

This is an excellent topic for a science project if you live in an area where radon contamination is a problem. Radon is a radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decomposition of radium in the earth. Since it is a gas, it floats up out of rocks and into homes; since it is radioactive, long-term exposure is definitely a health hazard.

I recommend starting with the official EPA website on radon, which provides information on health risks, radon test kits, and recommendations for building radon-resistant houses. This should give you the background information needed to identify your project idea.

https://www.epa.gov/radon

Next, you will want to do additional background reading, and hopefully find some scientific papers on this subject. Then you will be able to write your project question. Here is the basic guide for doing a science project from this website:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ndex.shtml

Please do post again if you have any questions.

Donna Hardy

I am trying to test the efficiency of using mushrooms to clean up excess radon from soil. I am having a hard time formulating a good research question though. Would comparing it to a current method work or just between different mushroom species? I am open to ideas

This is definitely a unique topic for a science project. You will need to do more research to find a method that you can use to measure uptake of radiation by mushrooms.

Here is a reference from the Wikipedia article on radiotrophic fungus which reports the ability of mushrooms to use ionizing radiation to produce a pigment, melanin.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... one.000045

There are a couple of additional references that you could also check out:

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

Please review the information and try to identify a question that you could answer with an carefully controlled experiment with measurable results. That’s what you need for your project.

I’ll also look for additional information and try to post again tomorrow. Let me know what you find.

Donna