Looks to me like that spike was "in" natural Bridge Caverns rather than "around" it. He mentions that the gray background elevation data drops out when he went underground because of the GPS not working then. Same thing for Carlsbad & Sonora. Though Sonora looks relatively radiation free. I'm amazed how high Natural Bridge is. -------------- Original message from Louise Power <[email protected]>: --------------
This discussion has caused me to remember an interesting graph I once saw where someone carried a geiger counter around TX and NM. I found it again, here: http://www.randomuseless.info/vacation/vacation.html. The graph itself is here: http://www.randomuseless.info/vacation/route/route.html. Look at the peaks around Natural Bridge Caverns and the smaller one at Carlsbad Caverns and maybe an even smaller one at Caverns of Sonora. The author claims this might be due to Radon. William ----- Original Message ----- From: Louise Power To: Philip L Moss ; Texas Cavers Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 4:51 PM Subject: RE: [Texascavers] underground houses When I worked at Carlsbad Caverns NP, we were constantly monitored for our radon exposure. Each crew worked in a progressively deeper part of the caverns, then had to work on the surface for a period of time. Also our cave tech, Kay Rohde, came through several times a day with her little air tester which would suck in the air at different points in the cave and then she'd put her findings into her results program to find out where radon was the highest (back of the Big Room during the summer visitor peak, in case you were wondering). I don't know if they still do that or not. Louise To: [email protected] List-Post: [email protected] Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:26:27 -0600 From: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Texascavers] underground houses In addition to Mixon's criticisms, there is always the issue of alpha radiation. All earth material tends to have some alpha radiation emitters (often more simply and misleadingly called radon). The more surfaces one has that are earth material (dirt, limestone, concrete), the more fresh air ventilation one needs to have healthy air. Is caving dangerous because of alpha radiation? In very few caves is it, because none of us spends that much time in caves. There are some western caves with some incredibly high alpha counts. Is mining dangerous because of the 40-hour work week exposure. No, because mines are ventilated with fresh air and the air quality is monitored. Is living underground without a lot of fresh air ventilation or even cooling your home or business with cave air a health hazard? Yes. Wait a minute, alpha radiation can't even penetrate your skin, so this is all BS. No, because the vector is from breathing in particles that are alpha emitters. Breathing in alpha emitters tends to produce lung cancer. High humidity promotes mold growth and overexposure to mold can cause other lung problems (personal experience and a visit to a pulmonologist). If such a home had any appliances, there would be waste heat that would help (enough for the summertime??) decrease the relative humidity. Natural thermal attenuation and moderation are wonderful things and this email should not be construed to say that they are not worth pursuing. However as with most things in life, the devil is in the details. Philip L. Moss [email protected] ____________________________________________________________ Compete with the big boys. Click here to find products to benefit your business.
