# The Relationship between Radon and Geology: Sources, Transport and Indoor Accumulation
## 2 The Origin of Radon
### Accumulation of Radon in Indoor Environments
#### 2.3.1 Radon Diffusion from the Soil
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Concentration \(\pm\) Standard Deviation (Bq\(\cdot\)kg\({}^{-3}\))**} \\ \cline{2-4}
**Rock Type** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**232 Th**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**238U**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**40K**} \\ \hline _Ophiolitic origin_ & & & \\ \hline Asbestos mine waste tip material & \(1.5\pm 0.1\) & \(1.7\pm 0.1\) & \(20.0\pm 0.9\) \\ Dunite & \(1.3\pm 0.1\) & \(1.3\pm 0.1\) & \(16.9\pm 0.9\) \\ Gabbro & \(1.8\pm 0.1\) & \(1.5\pm 0.6\) & \(71.2\pm 2.9\) \\ Harzburgite & \(1.7\pm 0.1\) & \(1.2\pm 0.1\) & \(16.2\pm 0.8\) \\ Mathiatis pyrite mine tippings & \(2.5\pm 1.1\) & \(50.5\pm 0.6\) & \(31.9\pm 16.8\) \\ Plagiogarite & \(2.8\pm 0.1\) & \(3.0\pm 0.1\) & \(128.4\pm 5.0\) \\ Pyroxenite & \(1.8\pm 0.1\) & \(1.1\pm 0.1\) & \(14.9\pm 0.7\) \\ Sheeted dyke complex (diabase) & \(2.7\pm 0.1\) & \(2.7\pm 0.1\) & \(106.6\pm 4.2\) \\ Troodos lower pillow lavas (oversaturated basalt) & \(2.9\pm 0.2\) & \(5.2\pm 0.3\) & \(307.2\pm 11.8\) \\ Troodos upper pillow lavas (olivine basalt, picrite basalt) & \(3.2\pm 0.2\) & \(2.8\pm 0.1\) & \(894.2\pm 34.0\) \\ Wehrlite & \(1.4\pm 0.1\) & \(0.9\pm 0.1\) & \(13.0\pm 0.6\) \\ \hline _Sedimentary origin_ & & & \\ \hline Calcareous sandstone & \(8.7\pm 0.3\) & \(21.7\pm 0.6\) & \(53.5\pm 2.4\) \\ Celestite & \(2.4\pm 0.2\) & \(56.0\pm 1.5\) & \(17.6\pm 1.0\) \\ Chalk & \(9.6\pm 0.3\) & \(5.4\pm 0.2\) & \(87.0\pm 3.5\) \\ Gypsum & \(2.8\pm 0.2\) & \(3.8\pm 0.1\) & \(20.9\pm 1.1\) \\ Klavdha, raised marine terrace deposits & \(21.3\pm 0.7\) & \(90.3\pm 2.5\) & \(240.3\pm 9.5\) \\ Larnaka beach deposits & \(14.9\pm 0.5\) & \(13.2\pm 0.5\) & \(127.7\pm 5.2\) \\ Lemesso beach deposits & \(3.9\pm 0.2\) & \(3.1\pm 0.1\) & \(76.1\pm 3.0\) \\ Limestone & \(2.1\pm 0.1\) & \(8.3\pm 0.3\) & \(20.0\pm 1.0\) \\ Marl (Dhali area) & \(10.5\pm 0.4\) & \(19.1\pm 0.6\) & \(329.6\pm 12.8\) \\ Marl (Lefkosia center) & \(7.1\pm 0.3\) & \(8.9\pm 0.3\) & \(187.3\pm 7.3\) \\ Marl (Lefkosia suburbs) & \(30.8\pm 0.9\) & \(41.2\pm 1.2\) & \(433.6\pm 16.7\) \\ Melange & \(52.8\pm 1.5\) & \(16.0\pm 0.5\) & \(392.5\pm 15.0\) \\ Montmorillonite (Bentonitic clay) & \(40.7\pm 1.1\) & \(18.3\pm 0.6\) & \(278.9\pm 10.8\) \\ Paphos beach deposits & \(4.8\pm 0.2\) & \(6.3\pm 1.2\) & \(147.3\pm 1.6\) \\ Pediaios river alluvium & \(13.4\pm 0.2\) & \(17.6\pm 1.4\) & \(261.3\pm 1.5\) \\ Red clay soil (terra rossa) & \(38.3\pm 0.5\) & \(21.0\pm 0.5\) & \(438.5\pm 10.1\) \\ Stratified ammonia & \(20.0\pm 0.6\) & \(7.9\pm 0.3\) & \(245.3\pm 9.5\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Natural radioactivity of in the samples used in the study by [PERSON] et al. (2003) [72]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c} \hline \hline
**Geological Classes** & **No. of Sites (\%)** & **Mean (Bq\(\cdot\)m\({}^{-3}\))** \\ \hline Acid rocks & \(183\) (\(5\%\)) & \(192\) \\ Alluvial fan & \(136\) (\(4\%\)) & \(125\) \\ Alluvial plain & \(833\) (\(24\%\)) & \(66\) \\ Alluvial plain from mountain valley & \(213\) (\(6\%\)) & \(168\) \\ Basic rocks & \(32\) (\(1\%\)) & \(83\) \\ Debris & \(246\) (\(7\%\)) & \(207\) \\ Dolomite rocks & \(246\) (\(7\%\)) & \(198\) \\ Football deposit & \(667\) (\(19\%\)) & \(118\) \\ Limestone & \(333\) (\(10\%\)) & \(137\) \\ Metamorphic rocks & \(174\) (\(5\%\)) & \(148\) \\ Moraine & \(437\) (\(12\%\)) & \(92\) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Indoor radon concentrations by geological rocks types (adapted from [73]). As can be seen in Table 3, [PERSON] et al. (2011) delineated a correlation between varying geological rock types and indoor radon concentrations across different sites [73]. The investigation incorporated 3467 sites, with each site falling under one of the eleven geological categories. The highest mean radon concentration (207 Bq\(\cdot\)m\({}^{-3}\)) was observed in locations characterized by debris formations, followed by dolomite rocks and acid rocks, presenting mean concentrations of 198 Bq\(\cdot\)m\({}^{-3}\) and 192 Bq\(\cdot\)m\({}^{-3}\), respectively.