Radon in Ceramic or tarra cotta Flooring

Question

Do terracotta or ceramic flooring contain uranium and therefore sip radon? Which flooring is radon-free besides hardwood?

Answer 1

Yes, ceramic flooring does have radon. Granite does too, I just saw a story on this last week. But it is such a low dose it will not effect people. Bamboo, cork, marnoleum, are some florring without radon. I would do a "green" flooring search.

Answer 2

Small amounts of uranium are found in a number of building materials. Radon is one of the decay products of the alpha emission from uranium-238.  It is the only decay product which is a gas and can therefore percolate out of the material an into your home.  

But because its a gas, it can also easily be removed.  The normal ventilation of the room or house may be sufficient.  Winter or continuous air conditioning is obviously a factor in how often the air in the room or house is exchanged with fresh air from outside.

The best way to tell if there is actually a radon problem is to use a couple of radon test kits.  Even if there are minute amounts of radon being released from building materials, the radioactivity level may be swamped by the much higher background radiation from outer space that bathes us 24/7.