Supplementary Cementitious Materials and Additives – Effective Measures to Hinder Radon in Concrete

The second largest cause of lung cancer is related to radon (222Rn) and its progenies in our environment. Building materials, such as concrete, contribute to the production of radon gas through the natural decay of 238U from its constituents. The Swedish Cement and Concrete Research Institute (CBI) has examined ten different concrete recipes containing an additive or Supplementary Cementious Material (SCM), such as fly ash, slag or silica and combinations thereof. The SCM´s were added in small to moderate portions and substituted the reference Portland cement (OPC). The inputs of an additive as well as a supplementary cementitious material were made as a mean to investigate their potential influence on the radon exhalation rates of the concrete as well as the radon gas diffusion length (L) that could be expected from the different recipes. Measurements were performed with an ATMOS 33 ionizing pulsation chamber. The results indicate a reduction of the exhalation rate by approximately 10-55 % depending on recipe at an RH of 75 %. The diffusion coefficients, corrected for background subtraction vary in the interval 1.1 x 10-10 – 7.6 x 10-12 m/s2. The diffusion lengths vary between 2 and 9 mm. In the case where the largest reduction of the exhalation rate is achieved, this roughly correspond to >2 mSv per year decrease in effective dose to a human. Consequently, using an additive or a SCM, as part of the mix, would be an option to effectively lower the radon gas exhalation in their initial stage of production. Secondly, the use of additives and SCM´s will contribute to a lower environmental impact (CO2).